A Tale of Destiny
by cartoonfan9
Summary: A new evil rises and to combat it, our five heroes must find five other ninja, but these ones are girls! Find out what happens in their adventures with action, drama, romance, and comedy!
1. Foresight

**Alright I'm back with another story! This one is basically inspired by question of "what if there were girl ninjas in the show?" I've had that question for over 3 years now. I have to admit, this beginning part of the story does sound similar to Chosen by Destiny, another thing that inspired me but trust me, it is quite different later on. Anyways, I hope to make this story better and longer than my last one!**

 **If you're wondering when this story takes place and/or anything different from the show, here's a list:**

 **-Lloyd was already affected by the Tomorrow's Tea (so he is around the ninjas' age)**

 **-Garmadon went missing after Lloyd defeated the Overlord**

 **-Lloyd doesn't know who his mother is**

 **-The ninja don't have their Golden Weapons and have never visited the Temple of Light**

 **-Zane is the same Zane we saw in every season up to 4 (the one about the Tournament of Elements, meaning he is not the Titanium Ninja)**

 **Enjoy!**

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Chapter 1: Foresight

Sensei Wu decided to take a break from the constant rambling noises like yells, shouts, and complaints the ninja were making as they played their favourite video game, Fist to Face 2. He could tell even Nya was beginning to lose her patience with their constant noise, which was quite hard to do because she had an impatient brother like Kai to put up with for her whole life.

Wu decided to look in to the spirit smoke. Often times, the spirit smoke would show him a glimpse of events that may or may not happen in the future, although most of the time it did end up coming true.

Wu sat down in his room and brought the incense sticks and ashes used to create the spirit smoke. A cloud of grey smoke appeared in front of the wise man's face as he closed his eyes to see what it will show. Wu thought deeply, trying to be at peace which was hard to do with the loud shouts they made. They were clearly getting too excited at their day off from training, and Wu hoped Nya would yell at them to teach them a lesson to stay a bit quieter.

The spirit smoke started off by showing Wu a temple, a temple which seemed familiar but he could not quite put the name on it. It shifted and showed seemingly random locations, such as the Akra Forest, Coastal Plains, Lonely Cave, and the Desert Pyramid. The scene shifted again as Wu saw what looked like his four students: they were dressed the same with the same ninja gi but they had their hoods pulled over their faces. Based on the little he could see of their faces, they looked like his students. Standing next to each of the ninja was what he thought could be a kunoichi.

The scene shifted once again and showed the four kunoichi standing back to back in a square, with light shining all around them.

The first one was cyan. Calm and soothing, moving as graceful and being as patient as her element. Water.

The second one was yellow. Brilliant radiance shone and lightened the world around them while moving as swiftly and smoothly as her element. Light.

The third one was teal. Radiating a peaceful nature and being as gentle but dangerous as her element. Nature.

The last one was silver. Determined and willful, she was as adventurous and filled with spirit as her element. Wind.

A loud shriek found its way into the sensei's ears and startled him as he opened his eyes. He lost his concentration and the spirit smoke disappeared. Wu pondered a bit over what he had seen, from the temple he knew but could not remember, to the four places, to the four kunoichi. Even someone as wise as Sensei Wu could not tell what these things meant. The temple…could there be something there? And the locations…he was shown four of them, and four kunoichi…could that mean the kunoichi could be found there? And what was the reason it even showed the four kunoichi in the first place? There were a lot of questions the old man could ask, but he did not have the answers.

"I suppose I should thank the ninja for bringing me back to reality with that loud scream…" Wu mumbled to himself. He sure did not want to see anymore than what he already saw. It would give him too many more questions to find answers to.

Wu walked down towards the video game room. He saw his students, except for Zane, who was only watching for the time being because they didn't have another controller. What Wu saw on the screen made him shake his head. The characters were the ninja themselves, even dressed the same in the same ninja gi. They were running around, defeating the Skeleton Army. _The games people make these days…_ Wu thought, disapprovingly. Then Wu got an idea. He would turn it off. He unplugged the plug that kept the TV on and the screen immediately went off.

"Oh, come on!" a ninja with orange-brown hair and a blue gi, Jay, ninja of lightning, complained.

"Uncle, what was that for?" another ninja, this one with blond hair and a green gi, Lloyd, asked with a hint of complaint in his voice and question.

"It took us forever to get there!" a ninja with spiky brown hair and a red gi, Kai, ninja of fire, complained alongside his brothers.

The last ninja who was playing and not watching, short black hair and a black gi, Cole, ninja of earth, sat there and glared at his sensei without saying a word.

"Sensei, is there a reason why you stopped us from playing?" the ninja with a white gi and who wasn't playing, Zane, ninja of ice, asked. He had light blond flattop hair that never went down because he was a robot, or as his brothers call him, a nindroid.

"Of course I have a reason," Wu replied calmly, ignoring their complaints and angered and annoyed looks. "Evil never sleeps, and we never know when a new evil will rise."

"But you said we have a break from training for a while…" Cole protested.

"That is right, but it _has_ been a while since you last trained. Two weeks to be exact. Anyways, I saw some…things in the spirit smoke that I will need to think about and then tell you what I know."

The five ninja exchanged glances when they saw their teacher hesitate. They knew something he was a bit distraught, but they knew better than to ask right away.

"You can have your day off today, but tomorrow, training resumes." Sensei Wu walked off to his room again, hoping to think about what he saw in the spirit smoke. "Oh, and quit making so much noise!" he called out before he was out of earshot.

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 **I didn't expect this chapter to be that long anyways, the part of this chapter without these author's notes is only 1000 words. Next chapter will be longer and..uh..I don't know what else to say. Hope you liked this first chapter and I hope it makes you want to continue reading. On my last story, none of my chapters except the first one got over 100 views so I'm guessing it wasn't captivating enough. I hope this one was. Anyways, hope you liked it!**


	2. A New Prophecy

*****UPDATE: Tke kunoichi of wind is silver and the kunoichi of life is pink. Their colours have been swapped.**

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Chapter 2: A New Prophecy

Sensei Wu walked back to his room as his students quieted down after he gave a little talk to him. He was going to check all his scrolls and prophecies to see if there were any that relate to anything he saw. Anything, from the temple to the four locations to the four kunoichi. His mind was mostly thinking towards the kunoichi. _What could that mean?_ he thought as bent over to get out all his scrolls and prophecies from the little drawer.

The old and wise man read them all over but found nothing of use. All the scrolls and other things he had read were all prophecies that had either passed or had yet to come in the near or late future. _Oh, how I wish_ she _was here right now. She would be really helpful right now._

After spending two hours of looking for any hints on what he saw, he gave up. That is, until he saw one old and dusty scroll only a few feet behind him. He picked it up gingerly because it looked like it would crumble any time now and opened it to read it. Immediately, he found a part of what he was looking for. He saw the kunoichi. He decided now would be the right time to tell his students about it.

The ninja and Nya were beginning to worry about their sensei. He had gone up to his room for two hours now and not a single sound came from him. They didn't want to go check, however, for fear he was meditating and they would disturb him.

"What do you think happened?" Jay asked the others who were all talking amongst themselves about it too.

"I don't know." Kai replied.

"Sensei would not hesitate like that unless something is amiss." Even Zane had the feeling something had disturbed him, but like his brothers, he wouldn't ask unless their teacher told them first.

At that moment, Sensei Wu walked into the living room where they were all standing around, holding what looked to be an old scroll. That only meant one thing…

The ninja knew by now if he came in holding something in his hands, it had to be something important. "Sensei, what is that?" Nya asked.

Sensei looked at her and then to all his students. "My students," he began, "this is a scroll that has a prophecy written on it."

They all looked at each other then back at their teacher. "What does it say? Or show?" the leader of the ninja, Cole, asked.

He opened it up and showed it to the five ninja and Nya. The scroll had drawings of girls looking like ninja, and looked VERY similar to the prophecy of the green ninja. The scroll had four girl ninjas on the corners of the papyrus, in the colour of cyan, teal, yellow, and silver. In the middle was another girl ninja, enlarged on the papyrus just like the drawing of the green ninja was in that prophecy. The girl was coloured pink.

"Are those…more ninja?" Lloyd asked.

"And what does that have to do with anything?" the blue ninja asked.

"And they're girls!" Nya exclaimed, having a feeling she was going to like what Sensei Wu was about to say.

"Allow me to explain. These five girls you see here are called kunoichi," Wu started his explanation. "These four kunoichi here," he continued, pointing at the four that were in the corners of the scroll, "are the kunoichi of water, nature, light, and wind." He pointed at the cyan, teal, yellow, and silver kunoichi in the order that he said the element names.

"Sensei, I do not follow," the white ninja couldn't understand where his sensei was getting at either. Plus, he was considered the most intelligent of the five ninja.

Kai was getting impatient. "Guys, stop interrupting! Just let him finish! I can't stand all these little breaks he takes because someone interrupts!"

"I would have to agree with Kai on this," Wu said. "Please, no more interruptions, and let me continue." His students gave a nod of understanding. "As I was saying, these four are the kunoichi of water, nature, light, and wind. The one in the middle is special just like the green ninja. Her powers are…well, I cannot say for sure. I could be wrong about what she can do, but what I do know for certain is that she is the kunoichi of life."

The ninja and Nya were speechless, so Wu continued. "There is a new evil rising and this prophecy says we must find the five kunoichi to combat the new evil."

"There's some writing here, but I can't read it," the black ninja said. "Can you read it, sensei?"

"Yes, yes I can."

"Then what does it say, uncle?" the past saviour of Ninjago asked.

"It says:

 _A new evil will rise again_

 _Five boys and girls will answer the call_

 _Battle between brothers shall end_

 _To Life or the Dead the world will fall_

The ninja, Nya, and even their sensei pondered over the words for a while.

"What do you all think it means?" Jay finally broke the silence.

"I am not sure, but let us try anyways, but line by line." their instructor told them.

"How can you _not_ know?" Jay asked looking shocked as if his sensei should know everything. "You're Sensei! You have a white beard! The whiter your beard, the more wise you are!"

Wu looked at his disciple and put his head in his hand like a facepalm. The way Jay said it reminded him of his long life…

"Well, I'm pretty sure 'A new evil will rise again' is pretty self-explanatory," Cole broke the silence.

"Yes, but what new evil?" Zane asked.

"How about the next line?" the sister of fire asked. "Sensei said it says 'five boys and girls will answer the call'. I think that's referring to you five?" she said while pointing at the five ninja. "And these five kunoichi?"

Sensei Wu nodded. "That is the only line I truly understand, but that is because it's an easy one."

"What was the third line again?" Lloyd asked.

"'Battle between brothers shall end'" his uncle replied.

"That can't mean you and Garmadon, can it?" Kai asked.

"Yeah, Lloyd…I mean we, already defeated him," Jay added.

"They're right, so there's no way you two can fight again…" Cole finished.

"And we've found no sight of Lord Garmadon anywhere for the past few months," Zane said as they all remembered Garmadon hasn't shown his face ANYWHERE in a while.

"What Zane said is right," Wu said at last, looking sad that his brother could be anywhere…or nowhere at all. Even Lloyd looked sad. Cole noticed this and quickly jumped to the next line before things could get a bit emotional.

"The last line is really confusing," he said. "T _o Life or the Dead the world will fall'._ What do you guys figure that means?"

"Maybe life as in the kunoichi of life?" Nya guessed, trying to be helpful.

"I sense that is right," the white ninja put in.

"Well, we have tried figuring out what this prophecy may mean, but I think we should take a break from it. I will go back to my room and meditate and you six can do whatever you like – just don't be loud about it!" With that, their teacher walked off towards his room.

It was Zane's night to cook and he was whipping up a delicious dinner. Jay and Lloyd walked in because it smelled so good. "Mmm, something smells REALLY good in here!" Jay exclaimed while sniffing the air even more.

"Yeah, it smells like you're really cooking that turkey!" Lloyd added.

"Hello, Jay, Lloyd." Zane smiled as he turned around and faced the blue and green ninja.

"Hey Zane, when's dinner coming?" Lloyd piped up.

"I think it will be ready in about 10 minutes." the ice ninja's monotonous voice replied.

Jay sniffed the air again and this time his nose wrinkled a bit. "Say, do you two smell that?"

Zane and Lloyd smelled the air again. Zane gasped. "Oh no! The turkey might be burning a bit!" Zane grabbed the oven mitts and put them on took out the turkey which was being roasted. Luckily, it did not burn much, just a bit overcooked although it will still taste good. "It smells a bit burnt, but not much." Zane came to a conclusion.

"Yeah, Zane's cooking is always awesome." Lloyd agreed.

"Sorry about that, Zane," Jay said with his hand behind his head.

"Why are you apologizing, Jay?" Zane asked as the nice robot he was.

"We distracted you a bit so the turkey got a bit burnt."

Zane smiled. "It's okay, I think it is still edible." The three ninja chuckled.

"Alright, we'll help you set it out on the table!" Lloyd said perhaps a bit _too_ enthusiastically which made the nindroid suspicious that he Lloyd was going to pull a prank but he didn't care. Zane gladly handed the other food to the other two ninja while he took the turkey himself.

"Dinner's ready!" Lloyd's voice rang throughout their entire flying ship to call their teammates and sensei to the table. Cole was lifting weights, Kai was playing Fist to Face 2, Nya was working on one of Jay's inventions while he took a break, and Wu was meditating.

Everyone sans Sensei Wu came running to the dinner table, hungry for food.

"Wow, Zane," Kai managed. "You never fail to give us a feast."

Kai was right. On the table was a roasted turkey, a bowl of salad, and a plate with six veggie sandwiches on it.

"Thank you, Kai," Zane replied to his brothers' compliment.

At that moment, Sensei Wu walked in, smelling the delicious food. By then, everyone had sat down and started eating and Sensei Wu took his seat at the head of the table.

"So, that prophecy," Jay started, his mouth full with the turkey. "What d-"

"Jay, how many times do I have to tell you it's not nice to talk with your mouth full?" Nya scolded her boyfriend.

"Sorry, Nya," Jay said as he swallowed. "Anyw-"

"I know what you're going to say," Cole interrupted before Jay could get any further.

"What am I going to say?" the lightning ninja challenged.

"You were going to say if we've thought of anything new about the prophecy." Cole finished.

"And?" Kai prompted.

"I'm just going to say I didn't even think about it." Cole confessed.

"Yeah, me neither," Kai said.

"I tried thinking of what it could mean, but I didn't get anywhere with it," Nya admitted. "We don't even know what the new evil is!"

"I think we should stop worrying about the prophecy and start worrying about how to find the five kunoichi," Zane told them because he tried to draw their attention away from the topic. It was no use wasting your brains on something you have very little information to try and figure out.

"I have no idea how we could find them," Nya said. The young adults continued talking until they noticed their teacher hasn't said anything.

"Uncle, is there something wrong?" Lloyd asked with concern in his voice. When their sensei didn't reply, they knew he had zoned out.

"Uh, sensei?" Jay asked, frantically waving his hand in front of the old man's eyes.

Then Wu came back to reality. "I-I'm sorry…" he said quietly. "I was just…thinking."

"About what?" the green ninja asked.

"About…how to find them."

"Find who? The kunoichi?" Zane asked.

Wu nodded. "There are some other things I did not tell you earlier this afternoon. I looked in the spirit smoke this morning and saw many things that have yet to come. One of those things were the kunoichi. Some other things I saw were a temple whose name I do not remember, and four…locations, for lack of a better word." The ninja and Nya just stared at him.

"And…?" Cole asked as his voice sounded confused which made sense. Nobody knew where the wise man was getting at.

"Those four places are places I thought were random. They were the Akra Forest, Coastal Plains, Lonely Cave, and the Desert Pyramid. Now that I think about it, they are not random. Think: the four kunoichi I told you about, water, wind, light, and nature…well, all of their elements make sense with the four places I saw in the spirit smoke."

Light began to dawn on the ninja. "I get it…are you saying we might find the kunoichi there?" Kai asked now that he understood what Sensei Wu was saying.

"Yes, I think so. But not exactly there, but around there somewhere…there has to be some towns they live in that are _near_ those places but not exactly there, so we may have to do a bit of scouring." Wu smiled.

"Where should we set course for first?" Jay asked.

"Hmm, I think we should go to the Akra Forest first. It is the closest."

"Alright, I'll set it right now!" Nya said.


	3. Power Awakened

**Here's the next chapter! I'm just going to say right now that I used the last name "Smith" for Kai and Nya because...I don't know. I think it was a rumour or something? Whatever the reason for how it came to be, I'm just going to steal that last name because I'm too lazy to think of an original one :p so yeah credits to whoever first used that last name for them. Anyways, enjoy!**

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Chapter 3: Power Awakened

After Nya set the Bounty on course towards the Akra Forest, the team finished eating their dinner and went off to sleep.

"Remember everyone!" Sensei Wu called out. "Training resumes tomorrow so be ready by 6 a.m. sharp!" Their sensei's reminder earned a groan from the ninja, though Nya just gave a smirk that she doesn't _have to_ wake up as early as them, but most of the time she does unless she's really tired.

In the morning, it was Nya's turn to cook breakfast so she made some pancakes and maple syrup to go along with it. The ninja quickly ate the pancakes in the 15 minutes time they had before their training would begin, else Sensei Wu would get quite disappointed if they were late.

"Soooo how talkative do you guys think I am?" Jay asked his brothers.

"Very." Lloyd gave a quick reply.

"Come on, I can't be _that_ bad, can I?"

"No," Zane agreed.

"See? Even Zane agrees with me, and he's almost always right!"

Jay was oblivious to the fact that he used the word "almost", but Lloyd just had to point it out to him. "There was a keyword there, Jay. 'Almost always'."

"And it seems like this is one of those times he isn't right," Cole said.

"Well then, you haven't talked to my parents yet! One time they went on and on with one of my aunts and they talked for nearly half the afternoon! I was like…" Like this, Jay went on with his long rant for nearly another minute while the ninja and even Nya just froze and stared at him, looking bored and annoyed. "So tell me now," Jay finished his story. "I'm not that bad, am I?"

"Jay, you did not let me finish," Zane told the blue ninja. "You're actually worse than bad." Jay looked like he was about to cry (an exaggeration of course), while the others laughed and high-fived each other. Even Nya laughed until she saw Jay's sad expression.

"Come on, Jay," she gave a light punch on his shoulder, "you know they were just joking."

Kai noticed something about his pancake that the rest didn't. He stopped laughing. "Wait, why is this pancake burnt?" Kai asked his younger sister.

"It's just for you, Kai," she answered teasingly. It seemed like Nya was in a good mood today.

Kai scowled at her, and Nya made an annoyed face as well. "If you don't like it, you don't have to eat it!" All of a sudden, the tap started running, although there was nobody there. All the ninja glanced at each other.

"Uh, what just happened?" Lloyd asked the golden question everybody had no idea what the answer was.

"I don't know…" Cole replied.

Then Kai remembered something. "Nya…remember that sensei said something about a kunoichi of water being one of the kunoichi we have to find?" When Nya and the other guys nodded, Kai continued. "Well…I have a hunch you could be it…"

Sensei Wu walked in and saw the tap running but nobody attending it. "I was wondering why you had not arrived yet," he started. "Why did you not reach the outer deck yet?"

"Sensei, there has been a…strange incident." Zane informed the old man.

Wu raised his eyebrow. "Strange incident?"

Nya sighed. "I'll explain. I made pancakes for breakfast when Kai asked me something and I got a bit annoyed, and then the tap started running. By itself."

Things got silent until at last their sensei spoke up. "I see. Nya, I think you may have figured it out already, but I think your powers have awakened. You are the kunoichi of water."

Everyone gasped except Sensei Wu. "Whoa, you really think so, sensei?" Kai asked who was just as surprised as the rest.

"It makes sense to me now, Kai." Sensei Wu replied. "Nya Smith, your powers have awakened as the kunoichi of water. You are quite opposite from your brother, and fire and water can be considered opposites. You have a lot of strength and courage in you, Nya, and it has shown through your being of the hero, Samurai X. It is your decision, and only yours, if you want to become the kunoichi of water."

"Umm…I'll need some time to take in all this and think…" the young woman replied.

Wu nodded with understanding. "Very well then. You have until lunch to think while the ninja can begin their training again." The ninja groaned again on hearing the word "training". Wu and the ninja left to go to the deck of the Bounty.

"I still can't believe Nya is the kunoichi of water!" Cole whispered to the others.

"Yeah, me neither," Lloyd agreed.

"I think it makes sense," Zane said. "Nya is a strong and courageous young woman just like sensei said."

Meanwhile, Jay was speechless while he was walking, which was funny considering the joke they had just a few minutes ago about how Jay talks a lot.

"Uh, earth to Jay?" Cole said to the lightning ninja, not realizing he just used a pun with his element. Kai waved his hands in front of the usually talkative ninja to snap him out of it.

"Oh, he's a goner." Lloyd chuckled.

The ninja reached the deck and Sensei Wu turned around to find his students trying to "wake up" Jay. "Jay?" he asked as he walked towards the blue ninja.

"…"

"I think he can't get over the fact that his lover can be a kunoichi," Zane guessed.

"Well, I'll get him out of his state of shock," Lloyd grinned. He took a deep breath and screamed loud and clear into Jay's ear.

"AAAAAAHHHHHHH!" Jay screamed back. "WHAT THE HECK WAS THAT FOR?!"

"You were totally out of it, Jay," Kai smirked at his brother.

"Ugh," Jay groaned. "Let's just get to the training."

"Welcome back, Jay," Wu greeted him with a hint of a smile through his white beard. "Now, you will start with stretches. First, the swooping crane." Wu bent his back and knees a bit and raised his arms while the ninja followed.

"Ow ow ow ow!" Lloyd complained because they had not done any training in a couple of weeks.

"Good. Now do 20 lunges." Wu said as he turned around. He was going easy on them since it was their first day again. Normally, he'd make them do 40, sometimes even 50 if he was angry with them. After they were done their 20 lunges, he told them to do 100 push-ups straight. Again, he was going easy else sometimes they would do 200. After they were done 100 (which took a while except for Cole), Wu said "that is fine for stretches. You all are really out of shape, but you will be back to your usual stretches tomorrow, which means double what you did today." He smiled a bit again. "Now, it is time to start your actual training, with the training course again."

"But Sensei, we've already mastered the training course." Jay objected.

"I know, but you will follow my order. You haven't done anything in a while, but, like I said before, evil never sleeps so you will do your training course…for now."

"What do you mean 'for now'?" Cole asked.

"What I mean is you will do something else later before lunch after you successfully completed the training course. I will watch over, drinking my tea of course." As he said that, Wu got out the kettle of tea and a cup from nowhere and poured it and started drinking it.

"Geez, how does Sensei put up with that awful taste?" Kai wondered as he pressed the button for the training course.

One by one, the ninja completed the training course after a bit of struggling. "My analysis of us doing the training course shows we are very out of shape," Zane observed.

"Oh, great! You just _had to_ record us doing this and failing a few times?" Jay hissed at the white ninja.

"Well, it seems you five have completed it at last." Wu said happily with a bit of disappointment as well in his voice. He had finished the kettle of tea long before the ninja finished the training course. "That wasn't so hard, was it?"

"What do we do now, sensei?" the black ninja asked with his arms crossed.

"Now you will practice your swordplay again." he said without hesitation.

"Oh, we've done that a million times!" the green ninja protested.

"And we don't even have our Golden Weapons!" the red ninja complained, throwing his hands up in the air.

"I miss them too, Kai," the white ninja sighed, longing for his Shurikens of Ice.

"Enough!" Sensei Wu scolded. "You will do as I say, understood?" When the ninja groaned for a bit and nodded, he nodded as well and left to go check on Nya. Wu didn't find her in the kitchen or the control room so he assumed she would be in her room, most likely thinking. When he got there, he found the door closed. "Nya?" He knocked on the door.

"Come in, Sensei," came the reply from the girl.

He opened the door. "Nya, have you made your decision yet?"

She nodded. "I have."

"Okay, then I will go call the boys in to hear it." He left before she could say anything.

"Ugh, I hate using these swords…" the red ninja felt sad.

"I know right! They feel so…powerless…" the blue ninja agreed.

They were just about to get their first fake fight between Jay and Kai when they saw their sensei walking towards them. "Sensei, is something wrong?" the white ninja asked his old teacher.

"No, but Nya has come to a decision on whether or not she wants to become the kunoichi of water or not."

"Oh, so we get to hear it?" the black ninja was delighted.

"Indeed. Let us all gather in the control room." Everybody quickly put their swords back and hurried to the control room where they found Wu and Nya waiting.

"Nya, what's your decision?" her older brother asked her.

"I…I'm ready to become the kunoichi of water."

Wu smiled while the five ninja cheered. "Good choice," Lloyd remarked.

Jay was just speechless as his eyes said it all that he was completely entranced over her.

"So, when do I get my new clothes like the ninja do?" she asked her teacher. She knew from what Kai told her that the First Spinjitzu Master's son would engulf her in his golden Spinjitzu and give her her kunoichi outfit like that.

"Now." Wu replied. "NINJA GO!" Sensei Wu used his golden Spinjitzu of creation and whirled right past Nya, engulfing her in his golden tornado and sending her back out, twirling. The ninja stared (somewhat) in awe, while Jay looked on at her dreamily at her new cyan clothing. Her outfit wasn't very different from the ninja; it had the same clothing, except instead of a ninja hood she had a "mask" tied at the back of her head that covers the lower half of her face but keeps the upper part open, whereas the ninja hood covers everything except around the eyes.

"Wow! This looks…good!" the kunoichi of water exclaimed, looking at her new looks. The colour of her kunoichi outfit was similar to Jay's blue ninja gi. "My favourite colour is blue too!"

"Sensei, when does her training start?" Cole asked with curiosity, always ready to help others.

"Yeah, we'll have to teach you how to control your element." Kai told his sister and sensei.

"Her training can start after lunch this afternoon while the Bounty continues its course to the surroundings of the Akra Forest. We will eat a quick lunch, which I'm hoping one of you can make," he said that last bit while looking at Zane with a hint of a smile. "Then Nya can start her training…with a regular sword that you four would be using." The ninja used regular swords now after their Golden Weapons were melted down into the Golden Armour, which was hidden away after the Overlord's defeat. However, Lloyd was the only ninja who didn't use a sword.

After a quick lunch made by Zane, Nya got ready for her first official training session. She had trained in the Monastery before it burnt down while the ninja were on a mission, but she never had proper training. "Okay, Nya," their sensei started, "the ninja will teach you how to control your element first. We already know you are a fine fighter so we will start with controlling your element, as we will for every kunoichi we find."

Nya nodded as she saw Cole bringing a bucket of water. "So what is the first thing I have to do?" she asked nobody in particular, hoping someone would know, though obviously Sensei does.

"First, just wait a bit and listen to what I have to say about your element. Water is an element that can be used to great effect, both offensively and defensively. Offensively, once you become better at controlling water, you can create tsunamis and other such waves of water. Defensively, you can use it to "absorb" things such as weapons that are thrown and the water can swallow it up so it doesn't hit you. Water as an element can also be used generally such as when there is a thunderstorm you can keep the Bounty relatively dry by directing the rain that is going to fall on it somewhere else."

"That was a lot to take in, but I think I understand," Nya said after her sensei's long speech about water was over. "So, who will teach me how to control it?"

"I will, of course. Your training starts now."

* * *

 **Just wanted to thank everyone who reviewed/favourited/followed this story so far, it means a lot, thanks! Yeah, got nothing else to say...**


	4. Ez Training

**Chapter name is a bit stupid but I had no idea what to call it. Also has anyone watched the new Ninjago season? The five newest episodes came out in English this week. I'd say Ghost Story and Stiix and Stones were by far the funniest Ninjago episodes I have seen, but Stiix and Stones was funnier I'd say. It's a good season :) I'm not one to get caught up with things like whether or not it makes sense. I like episodes that seem cool and are funny and that's all I need for a good show.**

 **Darkrainbow: thanks, I'll be sure to use him. Based on his personality, I have the perfect role for him in this story, but just saying it will be kind of minor and towards the middle-end of the story. I will have to change his element and colour for that, however, to fit the role he will play. Hope that's fine with you :D**

 **Lastly there is an important author's note at the bottom (well, kind of important). Enjoy the chapter in the meantime!**

* * *

Chapter 4: Ez Training

"Nya, concentrate. Concentrate on how you want to see the water," Wu guided the first kunoichi. "It is a very flexible element, and can take the shape of anything you put it in."

Nya understood and closed her eyes. She imagined how she wanted the water to move.

"Jay," Kai whispered to the blue ninja, "go put the Bounty on auto-pilot." Apparently, Jay didn't hear him because he was too busy being caught up with what Nya was doing. Kai groaned and smacked his head. The fire ninja decided to try someone else, since he didn't know how to do it. "Zane, can you put the Bounty on auto-pilot?" Zane nodded and went off to do so.

Nya continued concentrating. She slowly moved her hands up and the water in the bucket began to ripple. She wanted it to come up and out of the bucket, but she knew she would not be able to do such a thing on her first day.

"Good," Wu mused. "Now, we will try a bit of dummy practice. You will have more…tasks ahead of you to complete in coming days." Nya nodded. "Now, Nya, here is a sword," he said as he took the sword Lloyd had brought for Nya's training. Cole also pressed a button on the side of the ship and three dummies sprung up from the floor. "I want you to knock them down with the sword. Not cut them down, but knock them."

"But, um…why?" Nya asked. _Wouldn't it be easier to cut them down?_ she thought.

"Cutting them would be too easy," Sensei Wu replied. "You need to know how to knock down an enemy with a sword."

"But Sensei, how do you know a sword will be Nya's weapon?" Kai asked.

"Kai, you do have a point, but she will need to learn to use a sword. There is no Golden Weapon for water or anything of the like."

"I hate using regular weapons…" Jay grumbled.

"Yeah, our powers have weakened a lot because we lost our Golden Weapons…" Cole muttered. Right then, Zane came back from putting the ship on auto-pilot to watch Nya's progress.

"Enough. This is about Nya." Wu said calmly. He nodded to his newest official student to knock the dummies down. Nya ran over to one and hit it with the flat side of the sword. It easily fell over. "Use the sharp part of the blade for the next one," Sensei Wu told her. She ran over to the next one and hit it with the sharp like a real sword, but it only cut right through.

"The dummies are too soft…I'd need a real person to try something like this on." Nya muttered loud enough for everyone to hear.

"I don't think we have any dummies that are made out of harder material," Kai said glumly.

"It is possible to do it, Nya. Try again on the third one. We can continue training tomorrow." Wu said to keep her hopes up. He had done it when he was younger and trained under his father, so certainly Nya could do it.

She tried again on the last dummy.

SLICE! The sword went right through the dummy and cut it in half. "Well, you did not do it," Wu said calmly. "Training resumes tomorrow."

"WHAT?" all the ninja yelled together.

"Why does she only train for 10 minutes and we train for over an hour?" Lloyd complained.

"Yeah, I get that it's her first training session, but really?" Cole protested.

"Well, I can't really complain since my first training session was like five seconds…" Kai said lamely.

"Remember, what I say goes," Wu said with his calm expression as always. "You have the rest of the day off." He walked away before anyone could say anything.

"I'm going to go steer the ship instead of auto-pilot…I want to be alone too…" Nya said mostly looking at Jay and Kai who would likely go to talk to her. She walked off to the control room.

"So, Kai, how does it feel knowing your sister is a kunoichi?" Jay smirked at the red ninja.

"I'm still pretty surprised like all of you are," he admitted.

"I'm not shocked." the black ninja put in.

Kai sighed. "Cole, don't act like you aren't. I know you are. We all know."

"Whatever. You guys can talk about whatever you want. I'm going to go beat Kai's highscore in _Fist to Face 2_."

Said ninja snorted. "Good luck."

"I don't need luck!" the physically older boy retorted as he walked towards the living room.

"Yes you will!"

"What will we do now?" the nindroid asked.

Jay shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know. I think I'll go and get some sleep. Nya wants to be alone, too."

"What about you, Cole and Kai?" Zane asked the other two.

"I think I want to do some more training…I don't think I have my old fighting skills yet." Cole answered.

"I'll go watch Lloyd and see if he can actually beat my score," Kai smirked.

Zane sighed. "Suit yourself. I will go meditate."

Two hours later, Nya's voice was heard over the announcement system. "Everyone, come to the control room. We've reached Akra Forest!" Everyone immediately ran over while Sensei Wu took a bit of time to get there.

"So we have reached the Akra Forest?" Wu asked once he arrived. Nya nodded and pointed out the window where the team saw trees for as far as their eyes could see. Lush, green leaves sprouted from all the trees, right at the end of spring, in late May. They could see different trees but they had no idea because each tree looked very similar, if not the same as the one in front of it, beside it, and behind it.

"So now that we've reached, what do we do?" Cole asked being the leader he is.

"We have to find the town the next kunoichi might be in," Sensei Wu explained.

"Nya, can you check if there are towns nearby?" Zane asked.

"Already on it," the cyan kunoichi replied as she pressed a few buttons on the "keyboard" and the screen changed. "The two red dots here represent towns near the forest," she pointed at the red dots. One was east of where they were right now while the other was west and a bit to the south.

"So do we have to split up?" Lloyd asked.

"I guess so," the ninja of earth replied. "I think Kai, Lloyd, and I should go east while Nya, Jay, and Zane can to the town that's west from here." The ninja and kunoichi nodded.

"But how are we going to get there?" the ninja of lightning asked about their little transportation problem.

"I'll drop Kai, Cole, and Lloyd off first then we can get to the other town." Nya responded.

"Alright, so it's set!" the ninja of fire raised his hand up like a cheerleader. "But one other little thing: any communication device?"

"Don't worry, I got you covered on that," his sister answered. "Each of you can wear a wrist walkie talkie so we can communicate."

The other nodded. "So, we'll head east right now, right?" Cole asked just to make sure of the final decision.

"Yup," Nya enthused. Clearly she was excited to have another girl probably her age on board.

"Wait!" Zane suddenly yelled out. Everyone turned towards him. "Oh, Nya, you can set the course for the town on the east, but I'd like you to also listen." Nya set the course.

"Spill the beans, Zane!" Jay said quickly.

"But I'm not cooking tonight." he replied.

Jay slapped himself. Of course. Zane still didn't get figurative speech. Even Wu smiled a bit.

"There, the course is set. Now, what is it that you had to say, Zane?" the cyan kunoichi asked.

"How…will we know if we have found the kunoichi of nature?" the white ninja asked everyone because it was a very important question.

"I'm glad you asked, Zane," Wu began. "I know this may not be the answer you are looking for, but…you will have a gut feeling that you have found her when you do." All the ninja groaned together.

"That might be a bit hard…and time consuming…" the ninja of fire said slowly.

"I know, but that is the only way we will find them. We have no other clues. It was pure luck about that tap incident earlier this morning with Nya." Wu replied hurriedly. "Now go. You six must find her by tomorrow at LATEST."

"Yes, Sensei," they all obeyed glumly.

Nya dropped Kai, Cole, and Lloyd first at the eastern town. She brought the Bounty close enough to the ground so they could jump off without much difficulty. They jumped down right at the outskirts of the town and they saw a tattered and old dull orange sign that said "Welcome to Raylea" in fairly bright orange letters.

"I'm guessing Raylea is the name of this town?" Kai asked nobody in particular. Nobody said anything as they ran towards the town. The town itself looked like a place they could get used to; it had everything they'd want if they were regular civilians and not ninja. They passed by the town superstore which was bustling with people (in comparison to the rest of the town). After about another 15 minutes of walking/running on and off they found themselves in the middle of the town which had a lot of grass. The grass was in the shape of a big circle with some benches and a few gardens with lots of different coloured plants. It seemed to be a park.

"Did either of you notice that we saw no cars on our way here?" Cole asked suddenly as they stopped to look at the park and the people in it.

"Now that you mention it, no," Lloyd said as he clenched his jaw, trying to think of a reason why.

"Yeah, everyone was either walking or biking or something…I think I only saw one truck but that was probably for cargo delivery or something." Kai mentioned.

"Well, I think we should find out why." Cole said and his tone meant he confirmed the decision. Cole walked inside the park and the other two ninja followed. When Cole turned his head to look at a garden, he accidentally bumped into an adult.

"Watch where you're going!" he called out in a gruff voice.

"Sorry!" the black ninja called out until he bumped into another person, this time it was a girl. "Oops, sorry, miss," he said to her. The girl turned around and looked to be around their age.

 _Wow, beautiful…_ Cole thought but he didn't dare say it out loud. His eyes were frozen, looking at her face.

She had brown hair that went a bit past her shoulders which Cole thought was not too long or short. Her eyebrows were also dark brown, close to black like they should be and weren't as bushy as Cole's. Her eyes were also a light green, similar to Cole's emerald eyes.

At the same time, the girl thought the same about Cole. He had fairly long black hair that looked like it was in a mess, as well as bushy eyebrows and emerald green eyes, similar to hers. He also looked like he worked out a lot as she could tell he had a lot of muscle.

The girl smiled. "It's okay," she said.

"So..um..w-why..no.." Cole stammered. This wasn't like him at all. He always held his ground and rarely, if ever, stuttered and stammered. The girl smiled again and giggled at Cole's stuttering while Kai and Lloyd snickered at their brother's attraction to this girl.

"What he's trying to say," Lloyd waved Cole off, "is why are there no cars here except for trucks?"

The girl immediately responded. "We, the people at Raylea, respect nature a lot so we don't use cars or really many machines because we want to keep the air as clean as possible. Because of this, everyone uses a method of transportation that doesn't cause pollution."

Kai and Lloyd looked at each other and came to a silent agreement: she was probably the destined kunoichi of nature. Of course, they could already tell Cole would definitely not mind having her as a teammate, which brought a smile to their faces.

"Oh, by the way, I'm Lloyd," the green ninja told her.

"And I'm Kai, and this is Cole," the red ninja told her.

Her mouth went wide open. "You mean you're the green ninja, the hero of Ninjago? And you two are a part of the ninja team who protect Ninjago?" She stared at them, wide-eyed, not believing how fortunate she was to meet the famous ninja. Lloyd and Kai nodded, though Cole still seemed a bit out of it.

Cole finally pulled himself together. "What's your name?"

The girl smiled. "My name is…"

* * *

 **Cliffhanger, huh? To be honest I didn't want to keep her name a secret, it's just that I don't have a name for her yet lol. *Sighs* I have a name for the other two kunoichi but not this one. If you got a name you want me to use, don't hesitate to tell me it :)**

 **Now to the "important" part. I may be starting another story soon so I'll be working on both simultaneously. It may slow my chapters in this story by a couple of days but I don't know because I have summer break for another two months (but I have one week camp in late mid-late August and I absolutely won't be able to write then). In case you're wondering a bit about the new story, I'll just give you a sneak peak in one sentence:**

 **It is like the Ninjago version of Game of Thrones, but without the blood (for goodness sake, they're just LEGO figures, not living beings!), swearing, and...um...you know, the "stuff" it's so famous for.**


	5. Trust is Key

**BubbleEwa: thanks for telling me what that name means, it gave me an idea on what kind of name to look for! It helped!**

 **Anon: I'm just going to take a guess and say that is a joke? Lol I can't tell if you were serious or joking, but I'm leaning more towards joking :p**

 **Anyways I had some fun writing this chapter. There's another...half-cliffhanger, if you will, because I didn't add their reactions to it. You'll know what I mean when you get there, or a lot of you can probably already tell what I'm saying if you've been reading. Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 5: Trust is Key

"My name is Reyna," the girl said. "Reyna Alonzo."

 _Reyna. What a beautiful name…_ Cole thought. Just by looking at her, she seemed like a calm, kind, and jolly person, as well as one who could be a leader.

"My gut tells me she's the kunoichi of nature," Kai whispered to Cole. Cole gave a half nod, probably saying he also thinks so.

"So, um…" Lloyd started, but he stopped because he had no idea what to say. A breeze blew through the girl's hair, and Kai and Lloyd had to admit, she did look pretty, but they dared not say that in front of Cole lest they get a physical scolding once they were on the Bounty again.

"How about we tell the others that we think we found the kunoichi of nature?" Lloyd asked Kai in a low voice.

Kai stepped back to make sure Cole wouldn't hear. "And let them have a moment? Sure."

"Um, we'll be back in a minute," Lloyd announced loudly and they quickly walked away before either Cole or Reyna could say anything. Kai made a video call to Nya.

"Hey, Kai," she greeted once she saw her brother's face from the other town. "What's up?"

"How's your search going?" he asked, running his hand through his hair to keep it spiky as the wind was really starting pick up the speed.

"Empty. We don't think we've found her yet," she replied with a sigh. "But we'll keep looking, unless…" she raised an eyebrow. "Did you find her?"

"Yeah, and Cole thinks he just found his Juliet," Lloyd answered curtly.

Nya laughed. "Alright, I'll tell Jay and Zane and I'll bring Sensei too, of course. We'll get there soon enough." She turned off the call.

Cole was having trouble trying to think of something to say, so he just mustered a smile and kept his nervousness hidden in it. _Those two have some nerve, leaving me here._ "So…I think we have something important to tell you…mind if you lead us to your house? It may take a while to tell you."

[Name] tilted her head. "You _think_? Well, um, I would, but, I'm told to not invite strangers," she blurted out. Something was wrong. This wasn't like her. She was always calm and kept her cool, but she was struggling to find the right words in front of this handsome ninja.

Cole sighed, half expecting such an answer. Luckily, Kai and Lloyd came back at that moment. Cole resisted the urge to just squeeze them, even though on the inside he knew he was kind of just overreacting.

"I called Nya. She said she'd be here soon with Sensei and the others," Kai informed the black ninja.

"Should we go to her house and tell her or wait?" the earth ninja asked for their advice.

"Um, guys?" Reyna asked. "What's going on? Cole told me you have something important to tell me."

"Yeah, you see, we do," Lloyd answered awkwardly. "It's just…we're waiting for the rest of our team to get here. In the meantime, why don't we go over to your house?"

Reyna hesitated, then smiled and nodded. "Alright, come. Follow me."

They walked what they assumed to be to the east of Raylea. They walked past old, small houses with moss growing on the outside of the walls. Soon, the road turned into a trail made of pebbles, probably an unfinished road. They walked past some newer and bigger houses that were probably the most expensive in the town, and even two newly constructing houses. Finally, they made a left into a small street in the shape of a court, with the three houses on the entire street. The one farthest from them, in the middle of the court, was her house. It was a two-story house, fairly large and new, and by the looks of it was no more than 15 years old.

Reyna went to the front door and knocked on it. It seemed like they had no doorbell. "Mom! Dad! Rob! I'm back!" They heard pounding down some stairs and running closer to the door. A teenage boy, about the age 14, opened the door. He had short curly brown hair and jade eyes like his sister. They looked quite like siblings.

"Hey, Rob," Reyna greeted him.

"Hi, Reyna," he replied to his older sister. Then he noticed the men behind her. "Who are they?" he asked a bit nervously.

"Oh, they are the ninja who protect Ninjago. You know, the ones we see on the news sometimes?" She turned her head and smiled lightly towards them.

Rob's face changed drastically, going from a bit nervous to excited and awed. "Oh cool! Wait until my friends at school hear this!" Rob didn't seem much like he was 14 years old, but rather a boy from 6-10 years old. Most boys the ninja had met around his age had said "cool!" but they didn't make it sound like they were a kid.

"No offense, but, why does he act a lot like a child?" the fire ninja asked Reyna.

Even though she knew Kai had meant no offense, she couldn't help but feel slightly offended by his question. "His mind is a bit slow to age. Psychologists say he has Asperger syndrome, a mental disorder that makes him act a bit younger than he physically is. It's not serious, only by a few years."

"Oh." was all Kai could say. In a moment, they saw two adults walking towards the door too. The man, they assumed to be their father, had short, straight brown hair and glasses. Hazel brown eyes could be seen through the lenses. He stood taller than all of them though he didn't look very muscular. Their mom had straight, dark brown hair and jade green eyes. She stood about as tall as Reyna, which is to say, a bit shorter than the ninja.

"Hi, Reyna," her father greeted her. His eyes widened a bit when he saw the ninja. "Are these…the ninja?" His son and daughter nodded.

"What would heroes like you be doing here?" the mom asked trying to hide her stunned expression.

"We have something important to tell you all…" Cole explained. "The rest of our team will be here any minute now. May we come in to talk?"

"Yeah it may take a while to..um..tell you what we need to tell you." Lloyd said awkwardly, not knowing how to explain to them that Reyna is the kunoichi of nature.

"Uh, yeah, sure, come in," her father said awkwardly as well, not wanting to say no to such fine guests. It wasn't everyday the heroes of the country came to your doorstep and asked you if they could come in.

"Thanks," the three ninja said together. They walked inside the house, which was nice and comfortable. They had white walls with some paintings hung up on the walls, hardwood floors, and quite a lot of places to sit. They sat down in the living room and talked about general things in their lives.

"What was it that you wanted to tell us?" Mrs. Alonzo asked.

"We'll wait until our Sensei and friends get here," Kai replied.

"They'll be here in a bit." Lloyd finished.

"What a 'Sensei'?" Rob asked with curiosity shining in his eyes.

"It's like a teacher, except they don't teach subjects like math or science," Cole explained to the psychologically young boy.

The communication device on Kai's wrist began to beep. "Excuse me," he said as he got up and walked away. On the screen was Jay's face. "We've reached Raylea, but what's the address of the house?"

"Uh, just a sec, let me ask," he told the lightning ninja. He walked towards the living room again. "Um, Mr. Alonzo, what's your address? It's so I can tell our friends where we are."

"Our address is 2 Sandspur Road." he replied happily. Kai repeated the address to Jay, who said they'd be there in 10 or so minutes.

"They said they'll be here in around 10 minutes," the red ninja repeated what Jay said to the other two ninja and the Alonzo family. Soon enough, they heard the knock on the door. Reyna and her parents stood up to go answer it while the others stayed back.

* * *

Reyna opened the door to see an old man. He had a long grey-white beard and moustache, with a straw hat on his head. He also had a staff in his left hand. Behind him, he saw a girl around her age, slightly shorter than her. She had short black hair and amber eyes, lighter than Kai's. She wore clothes that were very similar to the ninja, in a light blue, like cyan. Reyna wondered if she was also a ninja. Beside the girl was a ninja in blue. He had straight brown, close to orange, hair with light blue eyes. Finally, behind them was a ninja in white with light blond hair that stood up unnaturally.

"Welcome," Reyna and her parents greeted them at the same time.

"We've been expecting you," Mr. Alonzo told them.

"Yes, and we've been expecting to meet you," the old man told them. Based on what Kai had said about a sensei, Reyna guessed this old man was their sensei.

"How silly of me. Allow me to introduce myself and them." the man said. "I am Sensei Wu, younger son of the First Spinjitzu Master. This is Nya, Kai's sister, kunoichi of water" he gestured to the girl in cyan. "This is Jay, ninja of lightning, and this is Zane, ninja of ice," he finished by gesturing to the ninja in blue and white, respectively.

Reyna's mother looked very surprised. "You..you mean you are the son of THE First Spinjitzu Master, the one who, if the legends are correct, created Ninjago?" Sensei Wu only nodded to her question. Even Reyna and her father looked surprised. They have NEVER had such…special guests, and probably never will. They had the son of the First Spinjitzu Master, also known as the Father of Creation, as well as the green ninja, the one who defeated the Overlord after the First Spinjitzu Master did many years ago, and the green ninja was also his grandson! Finally, they had the other four ninja who protected Ninjago before Lloyd Garmadon was known to the world. Reyna eyed Nya carefully. She had a feeling this girl was also another special guest, not just being Kai's sister and a friend to the ninja.

"Please, sit down," her mother told them and ushered them to the living room. "Would you like anything to eat? Drink?" Reyna had rarely seen such courtesies from her mother before, but she guessed such guests should get special treatment. They all declined, however.

"Psst, Nya!" Reyna whispered to the kunoichi of water. "All your friends here are special and well-known people. What about you? I have a feeling you are too."

"Me? Special?" she chuckled lightly. "Well, I guess you could consider me a hero too because I am…er… _was_ Samurai X."

Reyna's face must've been priceless because Nya burst out laughing. "You mean the Samurai X that bested even the ninja at being a hero at one point?!" she asked amazedly.

Nya nodded. "Now, I think you should pay attention to Sensei Wu, Reyna."

Sensei Wu cleared his throat. "Mr. and Mrs. Alonzo, Reyna, Rob, I know you all may be wondering why we're here. We have an important reason." Wu took a breath, trying to think of how to tell them the reason. "We think…your daughter, Reyna, may be the kunoichi of nature that will help us save Ninjago."

Silence. There was silence for a few seconds, until Reyna broke it. "W-what's a...kunoichi?" she asked feeling a bit scared.

"A kunoichi is a female ninja," Sensei Wu answered. "In other words, you will have to become the female ninja of nature to help us save Ninjago from a new evil."

* * *

 **That horizontal line was there because I wrote in Reyna's POV. I usually write in no POV so I decided to try something different.**

 **Anyways, what do you all think their reactions will be? Will Reyna accept her destiny?**

 **Also thanks a lot for all the views and reviews on this story! I'm getting more of both on this story than the last one, so I'm guessing this is better.**

 **New story will be out within the next week. I just need a name _ It's similar to Game of Thrones so if any of you have a story name for it, please don't hesitate to tell me!**

 **Hope you liked the chapter! :D**


	6. The Idiom is Wrong

**Next chapter is up a bit early. I couldn't keep you guys waiting, mostly because I absolutely love this chapter and feel proud of it because it's so good (like all of them) :p Anyways I think the ending is really good which is why I'm so proud of this chapter. Also, GO NYA GO!**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 6: The Idiom is Wrong

"A kunoichi is a female ninja," Sensei Wu answered. "In other words, you will have to become the female ninja of nature to help us save Ninjago from a new evil."

There was silence except a bird chirping outside. Reyna, Rob, and Mr. and Mrs. Alonzo looked stunned. "Are…you sure there's no mistake?" Mrs. Alonzo finally broke the silence nervously.

Sensei Wu shook his head. "My students would not be wrong. They would know Reyna is when they saw her. Even I have the feeling she is the destined kunoichi of nature."

"But that's ridiculous!" Mr. Alonzo burst out. "Our daughter has no fighting experience, and I would not want to put her in danger anytime soon!"

"Mr. Alonzo, I know how you feel, wanting your daughter to be safe and all. But Ninjago needs her if we are to stop the rising evil, whatever that may be." Wu explained to him calmly and patiently.

"You mean…you don't even know if there _is_ evil rising?" Reyna managed a squeak.

Cole spoke up. "We know there's an evil, but we don't know what it is."

"So you're just going to blindly walk into danger?" Mrs. Alonzo asked in aghast. She thought such heroes would know what they're doing.

Nya shook her head. "Yes for now, but I'm sure we'll find out clues eventually of what we're up against."

"Reyna, think about it," Wu told her. "I will not force you. I want you to make a good decision. I can give you time to think, if that's what you want." Reyna nodded, biting her lower lip.

"Mom, dad, I'll...I'll be in the backyard." She got up and left without another word.

"What do we do now?" Zane asked.

"I don't know about you, but I want to go explore this town!" Jay bolted up. "Anyone coming?"

"I'll join you," Zane said with a smile.

"Well, I have nothing better to do. I'll come too." Kai said as he got up. "Nya, Cole, Lloyd…any of you want to come?"

"I'm tired," Lloyd grumbled.

"I-I'll stay here," Nya said and she gestured her head to the backyard where Reyna would be and the ninja understood what she meant.

"Yeah…I think I'll pass…" Cole mumbled.

"Alright, we'll be back before dinner, Sensei," Zane told the wise man. "Unless we're not staying here for dinner?"

"No, it's alright," the two parents blurted out.

"You can stay here for the night…" Mrs. Alonzo said.

"…but we don't have enough space for all of you." Mr. Alonzo finished. It was the least they could do after turning them down immediately.

"Uh, I guess we can sleep in a hotel if there's one nearby?" Jay croaked. "Now I need water…"

Mrs. Alonzo got up to get Jay some water. "Yeah there's one hotel in this town," Mr. Alonzo informed them. "It's called Royal Tree. Not the greatest, but it's cheap."

"It's okay, we'll manage," Kai assured him with a smile. "Let's get going."

After the guys left, Lloyd went to sleep right there on the sofa. Cole decided to go talk to Reyna. He stepped outside into their backyard. It was reasonably big with a number of trees and very well maintained grass. All along the right side of their backyard was a garden with numerous flowers. Cole didn't know much about flowers, but from what he could see there were violets and petunias. He saw a flower that looked like a rose, but wasn't entirely sure whether it was a rose. Cole saw Reyna sitting in the grass, back facing him.

Reyna must've heard him, so she turned around and saw him. "Cole, right?" she asked nervously. He could see a tint of red on her cheeks.

"Yeah." Cole answered. Cole squatted down near her. "Nice garden," he complimented. "Are those violets? And petunias?"

Reyna nodded. "Yeah, we have a lot of different types of flowers!" she said cheerfully. "These are roses," she pointed to the one Cole thought was a rose.

 _So I was right!_ Cole thought proud of himself for getting it right although knowing little about flowers.

"Those are carnations and begonias," she said. Cole listened attentively to not give her the impression that he was rude (he's not). She told him a few more flowers they had in the garden until that was all of them. Then Cole got up to give his legs a rest.

He stood there and she sat for a minute or two, both feeling completely awkward and not knowing what to say. "So…" Cole began. "Have you…you know…made a decision?"

She shook her head.

"Then what are your feelings?" Cole quickly realized she might take that sentence in a different way. "I mean about becoming a kunoichi and all," he said quickly.

"It's shocking…" she said.

"Yeah, that's how Nya felt too when she found out she was the kunoichi of water."

"Nya?" Reyna tilted her head a bit. Then she remembered. "Oh, right! Kai's sister. Um, she's a kunoichi too?"

Cole nodded.

"Well, on one hand, I like Raylea. I like staying here and enjoying nature. It's nice and fun and I have a some good friends I can always talk to…" she trailed off, but quickly came back to reality. "What's it like being a ninja and being with…them?"

Cole realized Reyna was referring to the ninja, Nya, and Sensei Wu. "The ninja, Nya, and Sensei Wu are like my family. I have a real family, if you can call a dad a family in Ninjago City, but…after going through so much with the ninja, they feel like my brothers."

Reyna looked down to the grass and ran her fingers through it like wind would through a wheat field. "I've been living with my family since I was born…I don't know how it would feel to leave them…"

"Is…is that your main concern of being a kunoichi?" Reyna nodded.

"Well, I can't tell you to become the kunoichi of nature, so…just make up your mind. Whatever decision you make, whether it be a yes or a no, just be happy with the decision. Don't regret." Cole turned around and headed back inside, while Reyna still sat there pondering over his words. Then she got her answer. She got up and went back inside.

Jay, Kai, and Zane still hadn't come back, but she didn't care. They could take their time and Cole or someone else could relay her decision to them. "Sensei Wu," she said as she walked up to the son of the First Spinjitzu Master. "I-I have made my decision."

The old man looked a bit shocked. "Well, that was quick. But we'll wait until dinner and everyone's back." Reyna didn't want to wait for dinner. She was afraid that her mind might change by then and she'd lose her will to become a kunoichi.

Dinner came in an hour. The guys had returned from their exploring of the town well before dinner. Their table didn't have enough chairs, as they usually only had six around it. Now they had seven extra guests, and their table most certainly couldn't fit so many people. They managed to bring up a folding table from their basement and set it in the hall near the kitchen. They just managed to fit everyone on that small table, which was only meant for four people, but with a little adjusting on the main kitchen table, everyone was seated on a chair at a table.

The dinner seemed well enough. They had burgers with a variety of toppings, a fruit salad with grapes, strawberries, blueberries, and sliced oranges.

"So, Reyna," Wu spoke after swallowing his first bite of his burger. "Do you mind telling us your decision to become the kunoichi of nature?"

Reyna hesitated at first. The word "yes" was right at the tip of her tongue, but she changed her mind the instant before it came out. "No." she said. "I-I'm sorry." she whispered. "But I can't. I'd be giving up too much to do something I have no idea about, and how will I even make sure I'm coming back home alive?"

There was silence. Even anyone with food in their mouth stopped chewing. Even her parents were surprised, while Rob had a half smile, mostly because of confusion. Mr. and Mrs. Alonzo had thought their daughter would do the right thing, which is become the kunoichi of nature, like she always had done the right thing. She was always willing to help out others, but it seemed the burden of having some of the world's fate on her shoulders was too much.

Wu said nothing, having expected this, so he had already made a plan beforehand. "Well, then it seems we will get going after dinner is over."

They didn't know it but the way Wu said that just seemed to enchant Reyna and Rob's parents. Their mother immediately said "No! It's okay! You can still stay here!" It seemed like even Reyna's parents wanted her to do the right thing by letting them talk to her more.

After they finished dinner, Nya approached Reyna. "Hey, Reyna," she started. "Mind if we talk?"

Reyna knew what Nya was going to talk about: her answer. In truth, Reyna wanted to become the kunoichi but didn't have the courage to say so. Reyna nodded regardless.

"Alright, let's go to your room!" The fire ninja's sister grabbed her hand and bolted up the stairs, then let Reyna guide her to her room. When they got inside, Nya closed the door.

"So," Nya said, looking around the room. "What's your daily life like?"

"Well I get up and get ready and all that stuff, then I do any chores around the house while my parents are at work and watch over Rob. Sometimes, he'll go to the park so I ask some of my friends if they want to go to. We spend a lot of the day there, then come back."

Nya nodded, giving Reyna a signal that she understood. "You must really like plants and nature in general, right?"

"Yeah. I like animals too." Reyna smiled.

"So the…what was the reason you said no?"

Reyna hesitated but decided to tell the water kunoichi the truth. "The truth is, I actually wanted to say yes. But last minute my mind changed and my mouth said no."

"What's the main reason?"

"Leaving my friends and family." she said immediately.

"You'll still get to see them if you do become a kunoichi."

"But what if something happens? They'll be so worried, I wouldn't be able to stand living knowing they're worried about me. Here, at home, they know everything that goes on."

Nya sighed. "Nothing will happen. I'm here. The ninja are here. Sensei is here. We'll all watch over you and the other three kunoichi when we find them. We'll make sure you're all safe."

Reyna raised an eyebrow. "'Other three kunoichi'? What do you mean?"

"Oh, well, there's a prophecy that states that when a new evil arises, the ninja must find the four kunoichi of wind, water, light, and nature, as well as the kunoichi of life."

"And…I'm one of them?" Reyna asked slowly. "And you too?"

Nya nodded. "You're the kunoichi of nature, and I'm the kunoichi of water."

Reyna thought about what the kunoichi of water said to her.

"I can see that you're a natural leader," the cyan kunoichi interrupted her thoughts. "Just like Cole."

"C-Cole?!" She could feel her face begin to redden.

Nya laughed. "Yeah. He's the leader of the ninja. And strong, like you."

"I-I'm not strong!" Reyna retorted modestly, feeling a bit embarrassed by her blushing face.

"Sure you are! I can see it in you! You're strong like the plants that withstand tough environments!"

Reyna lowered her eyes. She had never been called "strong" before, and she had never thought people may think that of her.

"Hey," Nya said quietly. "After you went in the backyard, your parents told me and Sensei Wu that you always do the right thing, just like whatever nature does to us is for the better. It takes strength and courage to always do the right thing."

Reyna looked at her in shock. No one had ever talked to her like this.

But Nya wasn't done yet. "Also, destiny chose you. It's your destiny to become the kunoichi of nature, we all know it. Even your parents hope you will, as sad as they'll be. So, you'll do the right thing and follow your destiny, right?" Nya gave her a true smile.

Reyna smiled back. "Alright. Fine. I will."

* * *

 **So if you were wondering what this chapter title meant, it was the idiom that is "third time's the lucky charm" or whichever variant of words you've heard instead of that one. Reyna said yes (only to Nya, not to everyone yet) on her second time instead of third, which is why I called it that.**

 **I also need help for a name for the kunoichi of light. I had a name for her but I forgot. If you don't have a name idea, could you at least tell me what the name should mean?**

 **Also, good news! I'm now at home again from my vacation so I can write more and the new story will most likely come out tomorrow. Just need a story name, not entirely sure what to call it although BubbleEwa did give me some pretty good names ^_^**

 **Hope you liked it!**


	7. Farewell Friends

**Sorry for the delay. Like I said when I posted my new story "King Me!", I was going somewhere and wouldn't be back until Tuesday, then I had to start this chapter and now it's done. Sorry if it seems lame and all over the place. I had no idea what to write here except for the goodbyes so here is a chapter filled with randomness!**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 7: Farewell Family

Reyna smiled back. "Alright. Fine. I will."

"Okay, then let's go downstairs!" the ecstatic girl told her.

"Alright. I think everyone is still awake anyways."

* * *

"I don't know why Reyna said no," Mrs. Alonzo was saying. "We told you Reyna always does the right thing so we thought she would accept to become the kunoichi of nature."

"Mom. Dad. I am accepting my destiny, to become the kunoichi of nature." a familiar voice said as their daughter and Nya were walking down the stairs.

"R-Reyna!" her father was surprised. "You now decided to say yes?" Reyna only nodded. She looked over at Cole who looked quite relieved of her changed mind.

Sensei Wu stood up and smiled. "I am glad you made the right decision, Reyna Alonzo. We can sleep here for the night and leave tomorrow morning."

"Wait…you mean all of you will sleep, like, _here_ here?" Reyna asked in shock.

"We don't have enough beds for that. What is it, I think we have two spare beds?" Mr. Alonzo asked.

"No, we also have one more in the basement!" Rob reminded his father.

"I-in the basement?" Lloyd and Jay said together, both gulping. Neither particularly liked the dark. Kai had his fire, Zane had night vision, and Cole…he was pretty much fearless. Except for dragons, that is.

"Can you bring the mattress up here?" Lloyd asked nervously, well aware that his brothers (except for Jay) might start laughing at him.

"Yeah, sure, we can bring it up," Mrs. Alonzo said cheerfully.

"Don't worry, I can bring it up," Cole told them. "I just need to know where it is."

"I'll show you!" Rob volunteered.

"Are you sure you can bring the mattress up here by yourself? I can help you." Mr. Alonzo offered him.

"Oh, that's fine, I've lifted up a car before." Cole said casually as if people lifting cars were an everyday thing. Even if the Alonzo family had rarely, if ever, seen a car, they knew it must be heavy. "Come on, Rob." Cole motioned to the younger boy. "Show me where the mattress is and I'll bring it up." Cole left with Rob while Reyna and her parents were left blinking in shock at Cole's remark of lifting a car.

"Well, um, dibs on a bed!" Nya broke the silence.

"Yes, and Sensei can take another bed." Zane said surely.

"Which leaves us down to the last bed," Kai stated.

"I'll take it!" Lloyd burst out immediately.

Jay sighed. "Fine, take it."

In a minute, Cole had brought up the mattress. "I'm taking this mattress," he declared.

"Sorry, Cole," Lloyd sneered. "But that bed's for me." The green ninja jumped on to the bed without waiting for a retort. He really was still a kid, regardless of his older body.

"Whatever, let's get going," Cole grumbled and dragged Jay and Kai along with him like they were stuffed toys.

"Don't you want to know where you're going?" Zane objected.

Cole stopped. "Oh, right, I thought they would've told you by now where we're going."

Zane turned back at the Alonzo family. "Where should we stay?"

"There's only one inn in all of Raylea," Mrs. Alonzo explained. "This town doesn't get many visitors so that's why there's only one, most of the time empty. You can't really miss it. It's called 'Royal Tree'."

"Oh right, Mr. Alonzo told us that earlier today," Kai remembered.

"I think we should get going," Jay put in.

"Wait! Before you go," Sensei Wu interrupted, "I'd like to thank Nya for helping Reyna change her mind." Wu smiled at the cyan kunoichi.

"Woah! Nya?! You helped her change her mind?" Kai looked very proud of his younger sister.

"Yup!" she replied happily.

"Awesome!" Jay crowed. He ran to her and picked her up. Then he set her down and they embraced each other.

"Now that the little things are over, can we go to sleep now?" Lloyd complained.

"Yes, it is about time I slept too." his uncle said aloud.

"Then we'll see all of you guys in the morning." Cole said cheerfully but with a tired smile.

* * *

In her bed in her own room, Reyna was still awake thinking of what life might be like after she becomes a kunoichi. Will she get to see her friends and family again? Are her parents happy with her decision? Will her training be hard? Does Cole like her the same way she like him? Then Reyna gasped, realizing what she thought about. She had never felt this way about anyone before. A lot of boys at school in previous years had liked her, but she never felt the same…until now.

 _Stop thinking, Reyna,_ she scolded herself. _Tomorrow's a big day. I have to say goodbye to my family and travel off with people I barely know to fulfill my destiny._

Now let's see how our sneaky friends at the Royal Tree are doing…

* * *

"Ugh, I hate this!" Kai complained.

"Yeah, I liked it so much better when we were sleeping by ourselves!" Cole shouted, tugging the thin comforter from Jay.

"At this rate, I estimate we have an 11% chance we will fall asleep within the next hour," Zane affirmed.

"Shut up, Zane! You're not helping!" Jay yelled at the nindroid, trying to take the (size-wise) small comforter back from Cole.

"At least you should be happy Lloyd is not here to make things even worse," the white ninja tried comforting them.

Kai turned over to face the wall, while Zane tried getting some rest. Cole finally pushed Jay off the bed with a loud _thump_.

"Hey!" Jay yelled and jumped back on the bed, landing right on the black ninja's head.

"Get off!" Cole growled and pushed him back off.

Kai sighed. "I'm sure glad _I'm_ not with them."

"Indeed," the nindroid sleeping next to him agreed.

This was going to be one terrible night…

* * *

In the morning, four very tired-looking ninja arrived back at the Alonzo house. One of the four had a sore back and another had a bit of a bruise on his nose.

"Hi guys!" Nya greeted them. Then she noticed they all looked like zombies. "Why do you all look so tired?"

"Ask Mr. Muscles and Mr. Lovey-dovey," her brother sighed.

"I can tell who Mr. Muscles is, but who's Mr. Lovey-dovey?"

"It's your boyfriend, Jay!"

"Hi, Nya," said ninja managed a tired smile.

Nya smiled back, but quickly turned to an I'm-waiting-for-an-explanation face.

"The short version, Cole and I don't exactly get along very well when we're both trying to sleep on the same bed with a thin comforter that can barely reach the edges of the bed!" Jay babbled and his voice went up as he continued talking.

"So you didn't get any sleep?" the cyan kunoichi summarized.

Kai and Cole rolled their eyes, Zane was looking around probably not having a care in the world about what they were talking about, and Jay was looking at her. "Yeah," the blue ninja said.

"Hey everyone," Lloyd said cheerfully as he walked towards the group. "Got a good sleep?"

Now it was Jay's turn to put on a face, and he did a you-have-got-to-be-kidding-me face. "No. Does it look like we do?"

Lloyd gulped. "Come have breakfast!" he changed the topic.

They walked towards the kitchen and smelled the smell of something delicious…

"Blueberry pancakes! My favourite!" Jay remarked happily.

"Well, sit down, and you can all eat," Mrs. Alonzo told them. They all obeyed and sat down.

"Hello, my students," a voice called from the staircase.

"Good morning, Sensei," Zane greeted him.

"I think we will eat breakfast, Reyna can say her goodbyes, and then we can be on our way to the next place." their teacher told them of his plans as he took his seat.

"Where _is_ Reyna?" Kai asked.

"Somewhere upstairs, I think," Nya answered.

"Here I am!" Reyna said as she came downstairs. She looked ready to do some training in her tank top and track pants.

"You can eat your breakfast and then…you can leave." her mother said the last part a bit sadly.

Reyna also had a bit of a sad look in her eyes. "Where are dad and Rob?"

"Oh, they went out for a bit, they'll be back before you leave, and that's for sure." Mrs. Alonzo allowed herself to laugh.

Mr. Alonzo and Rob came back before they finished breakfast. Then they all ate hurriedly so they could leave. Lots of things still had to be done. Reyna packer her things immediately after breakfast and brought it down. Then came the hard part: leaving her family.

"Mom, dad," Reyna faced both her parents and looked them in the eyes. "I'll miss you both a lot." Reyna hugged them both, as if she'd never see them again.

"Reyna, be careful out there," Mr. Alonzo told her, ruffling her hair a bit like she was a kid. "I know becoming a ninja won't be easy, but don't become one just because you have to, but because you _want_ to." He gave her a happy smile with sad eyes, which on his face looked funny. "I just want you to know that I'm proud of you."

"Yes, dear," Mrs. Alonzo told her daughter as well. "We are both proud of you. Don't think we will be sad because you left…well we will be sad, that is to be expected, but we are also happy for you. Also," she paused. "Please be careful out there. I know you'll be able to protect yourself once you start training, but do not overestimate your powers once you get them." She hugged her daughter tighter. "I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you too," Reyna replied.

"Oh, and we also know Cole would be able to protect you," her father winked at her.

"W-what?" Reyna felt embarrassed.

"Don't think we haven't noticed how you look at him and he looks at you. But, it's fine," her mother winked at her as well.

Then she moved over to Rob. "Rob, take care of yourself, alright?" She gave her little brother a smile.

"When will you come back?" he asked her.

"Soon. I'll come back when I can." Reyna gave Rob a hug before turning around, but not without one last wave of a goodbye.

They walked towards the outside of the town, and on the way some people gave them dirty or curious looks. "Sooooo, how are we getting out of this place?" Reyna asked.

"Oh right! I forgot you didn't know of our flying ship." Nya said.

"Flying ship?" Reyna was completely unaware of the _Destiny's Bounty_.

"Yeah, we travel in a flying ship called the _Destiny's Bounty_. It was originally used by Captain Soto and his crew of pirates a long time ago."

Jay smacked his head. "Ugh, why didn't we think about sleeping there instead of that hotel?!"

"Too late now," the red ninja told him.

"Do I get those cool clothes like Nya too?" Reyna asked.

"Yes, you will. In fact, right now would be fine." Sensei Wu replied.

"Uh, _how_?"

"Easy." Sensei Wu set his staff down. "NINJA GO!" He burst into a golden tornado and zoomed right past Reyna, giving her the kunoichi clothes and leaving her twirling.

"What was that?" Reyna asked as she put up her hands. Out of the corner of her eyes, she noticed she was wearing a different colour…no, actually they were completely different clothes. Her kunoichi outfit looked just like Nya's, but teal instead of cyan. She tried her new kunoichi mask on, but it felt like it would suffocate her, so she decided to pull it down. "This is cool!" She noticed Cole staring at her, unlike the others who were simply looking at her and then away. Judging by their faces, it wasn't really new to them.

"Uh, Cole?" Kai tried to get the earth ninja's attention.

Jay and Lloyd snickered. "Hey Lloyd, how about you try your famous scream treatment?" The mere mention of Lloyd's scream treatment was enough to bring Cole back to reality.

"No! No screaming, thanks." he announced. The rest of the group just laughed at him.

"Reyna, from now on, you will be the kunoichi of nature," Sensei Wu told the newest kunoichi.

"Thank you, Sensei," she said as she bowed.

"Now," Wu paused for dramatic effect. "Let us get back to the Bounty!" He ran to their big flying ship.

"Quite energetic for his age, isn't he?" the kunoichi of water creeped up and elbowed Reyna.

"Yeah. I think we should get going, too."

* * *

 **Thanks for the follows and favourites everyone, means a lot to me ^_^ Those mean people actually like my story, and I write because I want to. Reviews are...well, just that. Reviews. They express that you like it, but if it doesn't clearly say that I just have to hope you do xD**

 **...why am I talking about this lol. Anyways next chapter for King Me! will be up soon (hopefully...). Don't have much of an idea what to write for it but I do have SOME ideas.**

 **Hope you liked it!**


	8. Calm as Water

**Phew! This took a while, and it's pretty long (compared to my average for this story which is like 2200-2300). Also sorry for the delay, I thought I could get this done yesterday but...yeah I couldn't. I've been watching The Last Airbender (I know, I'm late), so that slowed me down in both stories. BUT, I'm done that (it was awesome) and I plan on starting Legend of Korra soon too so expect more delays lol.**

 **Anyways, enjoy! Sorry if the ending seems weird, with the plant saying "I" and stuff. You'll understand when you get there.**

 **Also title is kind of weird.**

* * *

Chapter 8: Calm as Water

Back on the Bounty, Nya gave Reyna a quick tour of the flying ship. "This is where we eat, so you better come on time," Nya gave her a wink as she showed the dining area and kitchen. She also showed the bridge wherever everyone would meet up for important things, the ninjas' room, the television room, the exercise room, the training room, and the training equipment on the deck. "And this," Nya finally showed to her, "is our room. Girls room."

Reyna looked inside and saw a room with five beds and a mirror. "Wow. Was it always like this?" Reyna asked.

Nya shook her head. "Nope. Before, it was just my bed, but since we found out about the prophecy of four more girls that will be here, we figured we'll add more beds. We had to break one of the walls to have enough space, though." She chuckled and pointed to their left towards the ceiling, where sharp and jagged pieces of wood still stuck out, indicating there had been a wall there.

They heard footsteps behind them and it didn't sound like Sesnei Wu's slower footsteps and staff, so they figured it was one of the ninja.

"Oh, hi Kai," Nya greeted her brother.

"Sensei wants everyone at the bridge," the red ninja said without bothering to greet her and the newest kunoichi.

"Alright, then, let's go."

They walked up to the bridge and saw everyone else waiting for them.

"So, uh, Sensei," Reyna said awkwardly, not being used to addressing anyone as her Sensei, "why did you call us all here?"

"I wanted to tell you our next course of action," he replied.

"Meaning?"

"Oh, we forgot," Zane said. "Reyna is unaware of our plans."

"Plans?" the new kunoichi asked nervously, thinking they might be some sort of kidnappers impersonating as the ninja.

"Zane, don't say it like that!" Cole hissed at the nindroid. "She might get the wrong idea and think _we're_ the bad guys!"

"Oh, yes, Cole is right," the white ninja told her. "I apologize if I made you think like that."

"Uh, yeah, I actually did," Reyna chuckled, and so did the rest of them.

"Anyways, what Zane was trying to say was our plan of where we're going next to find the next kunoichi," Jay told her.

"Yes, as Jay mentioned, we are going to find the next kunoichi, the kunoichi of light." Sensei Wu planned it out. "The kunoichi of light will be found near the Desert Pyramid."

"The Desert Pyramid? As in, in the Sea of Sands?" Reyna asked nervously. She wasn't too fond of deserts. Last time she was in one, they had run out of water.

"But uncle, you said each of the kunoichi would be found near those places," Lloyd began. "Pythor had went into the Desert Pyramid to look for a fangblade when he had me as his captive, but I didn't see any town nearby."

Sensei Wu thought for a moment, but it was Jay who answered. "There has to be something around there. You might not have seen the town because of all the sand flying around or something."

Lloyd slumped and looked down. "Maybe." By the sound of his voice, they knew he wasn't convinced.

"There has to be a town nearby," Sensei Wu said.

"Jay, you know the Sea of Sands better than any of us," Kai said to the blue ninja. "Do you know of any town near the Desert Pyramid?"

"Hey, just because my parents' junkyard is in that desert, doesn't mean I know every place there too!" Jay intoned,

Kai put up his hands. "Alright, I was just asking because you know it better than any of us."

"Then it's set. We're going to…near the Desert Pyramid." Cole conluded hesitantly, as he didn't quite know where exactly they were going. Everyone nodded.

Nya jumped over to the ship's command system, pressed a bunch of buttons that nobody except Jay and Zane knew, and turned around to face them all again. "There," she said happily. "I set the Bounty on auto-pilot to the Desert Pyramid. It'll take a couple of days, though."

Everyone nodded and began to head out. Reyna, being the new person here, had no idea what to do, so instead she asked a question. "When does my training start?"

Everyone stopped walking and turned to face her. Sensei Wu had his head down and said "30 minutes. You and Nya will both have your training in 30 minutes, so be ready."

The two girls nodded and went to their own things, whatever that may be. Jay, Kai, and Lloyd planned on playing _Fist to Face 2_ , Zane said he would go get their weekly groceries, Sensei Wu went to drink his tea and meditate, and Cole…nobody knew what Cole was going to do, but they expected him to go lift weights.

Reyna decided she would go out to the deck and see what they were passing over, to feel the wind, and most importantly, think. She was going to think about how she'll live on the Bounty; it was obviously very different from her house and would take some time getting used to it. Will she be the one people will go to in an emergency because she's always the "idea person"? Nya said she sees leader-like qualities in her, like Cole. _Cole…_ Reyna thought, and she began to think of him. She hardly knew him, and they only talked twice, once when they first saw each other in Raylea, and once in the garden when he gave her advice. She was about to go talk to Nya to ask her what kind of a person Cole is, when she ran into the black ninja when she turned around. It surprised her for half a second.

"Hey," he said softly, noticing he had surprised Reyna. "Sorry. I didn't mean to surprise you like that."

She looked calm again. "It's alright. I wasn't expecting to see you here."

Cole walked to her side and leaned forward on the rail, looking out at the view. They weren't that high in the sky, so they didn't see any clouds in the way. "So, where were you about to go?"

"I was thinking of going back inside, to ask all of you what it would be like to become a kunoichi," Reyna lied. Technically, it wasn't a lie because she DID want to know that.

"Well, I guess I can help you with that." Cole smiled. "I may not be a kunoichi, but I am a ninja, which is the same thing. What do you want to know?"

"Just life as a kunoichi. What I'll have to do, what to expect, stuff like that."

Cole thought for a moment. "The immediate answer is that being a ninja or a kunoichi or whatever is hard. You may have to do things you don't like."

"Such as?"

"I don't know…maybe…sacrificing one person for the better of the world?"

Reyna gritted her teeth. She didn't like that idea, the idea of maybe having to ruin one person's life for the world. _It is for the greater good,_ she tried convincing herself. "What would I have to do to become a kunoichi?" she asked.

"You'll have to train, that's for sure," the earth ninja immediately replied. "But don't worry, I'm here to help you if you need it. In fact, we're all here to help."

After Cole said that, Reyna knew she found a part of the earth ninja's personality: he cared a lot about those he loved. _Love…_ the teal kunoichi thought. _Do I love him? No, no. I barely know him._ She shook that thought out of her head…for now.

Cole noticed her shaking her head. "Is something wrong?" he asked.

Reyna shook her head again. "No. Anyways, anything else I'll have to do?"

Cole thought for a minute or two. "We all have our own 'roles', I guess. You may have one too."

"Like?"

"I'm the leader of the ninja and cook, Nya's the leader of the kunoichi and tech expert along with Jay and Zane, Jay uses his quick wit to make ideas, Zane is also a cook…stuff like that." He paused for breath. "But I don't know what you would do, since I don't know you that well."

Reyna was relieved that Jay could also come up with quick ideas in times of need, although judging by his light-hearted personality they wouldn't necessarily be "good" ideas.

"Well, I'm also good at getting ideas quick," she said. "Rob and my parents often rely on me to get an idea when they need to, like any basic planning. Basically, they think my opinion is valuable." That was the simplest way she could explain what she could be helpful for.

"I see," the black ninja said. "Well, I hope your ideas are better than Jay's. One time, he made us go down to Darkley's School for Bad Boys on the Bounty's anchor. We had to ride it down, and we went right through the roof of the school." Cole laughed at the memory, and Reyna joined him too as she imagined the sight of the ninja descending from the Bounty on a high-speed anchor only too crash right through the roof of the building.

"To be fair, I wouldn't have a better idea," Reyna admitted once they stopped laughing.

"Yeah, me neither. But that's why I like having him around: he's fun to be around and gets crazy ideas that are dangerous, but if they're done right, they work!"

"What do Lloyd and Kai do? You mentioned the rest of you doing something on the Bounty, but not them. What do they do?"

"Play video games," he replied. Reyna laughed. "But seriously, they're a lot better in the front lines in action than behind the scenes here at the Bounty."

The two heard footsteps behind them and turned around. They saw Jay, Kai, Lloyd, and Nya, but Zane and Sensei Wu were nowhere in sight.

"Ah, so here's where you two have been!" Jay joked.

"Yeah, how's our team's newest couple doing?" Kai teased.

Reyna was aware of a vivid blush on her face, but Cole only looked slightly annoyed. Slightly. She guessed he was used to teasing from his brothers, even if it wasn't about…romantic matters.

"Is it time for training?" the teal kunoichi asked.

Lloyd nodded. "Yeah, you and Nya have to train. We're only here to watch and guide, I suppose."

"Then where's Sensei Wu? And Zane?"

"Right here," an old-sounding voice replied. Sensei Wu came down to join the ninja and kunoichi. "Zane is out shopping for our weekly needs. Now, which of you would like to go first?"

"Me!" Nya volunteered. "I'll show Reyna how to control her element."

"Very well then. Lloyd, the bucket please."

Lloyd set the bucket down in the middle of the deck and returned to where he was standing. Nya walked up to it and concentrated.

"Last time, you made ripples in the water. This time, I want you to try and move the water how you want it to." Sensei Wu instructed.

Nya nodded. She seemed deep in concentration and she raised her hands, hoping the water would mirror her movements. She opened her eyes, but it didn't. It only rippled. She became a bit frustrated and tried again, to the same effect.

"Do not try so hard," her Sensei guided.

"Try thinking about something else too," her brother suggested.

"Yeah, like how you found out you were the kunoichi of water by making the tap run without even trying!" her lover reminded.

"Yes, be calm and do not try so hard. Lighten up." Wu told her.

Nya listened and tried thinking about other things, things that calmed her or made her happy. She thought about Jay, who always tried to talk to her and make her happy when she was feeling a little down. She raised her hands, and much to everyone's surprise, the water rose like her hands. Nya opened her eyes again and saw that the water had mirrored her hand movements.

"Yay! Good job, Nya!" Jay complimented.

"Yeah, nice work," Cole gave her a thumbs up.

Sensei Wu only smiled.

Nya turned to face her Sensei. "Last time when I was doing my training, why did you ask me to concentrate deeply, but all it did was make ripples?"

"When you first try controlling an element, you must concentrate. After you make some progress, no matter how small the progress is, you should not try so hard. You have to…what do they say…loosen up, and it will do as you say. Water is a calm element when in a bucket, so you must be calm as well."

"But that's not to say she'll have to be angry during a storm, right?" the fire ninja asked.

Sensei Wu dismissed the question with a wave of his hand. "Nya will learn such things when the time comes. For now, we will help train Reyna."

Reyna tried hiding her nervousness, but it didn't work. "What will I have to do?" she squeaked.

"Let me give you a little lesson on your element, first," Sensei Wu said. "As water gives us a drink that almost no living things can survive without, nature gives us something we can't survive without either: food. Like the earth bears nature," he lectured as he looked at Cole and Reyna in particular, "nature bears home to many animals. But first, you must understand your element before being able to control it."

"But why does Nya not have to understand water?"

"Water does not need to be understood. If anything, water needs to understand its controller, for it'll do what its controller wants, such as taking the shape of a bowl, or a bucket, or falling as rain. Nature, however, does not easily trust people, because of how much people have hurt it; you must gain the trust of nature first, and then it will listen to you."

What Sensei Wu was saying sounded silly to all of them, even Reyna, what with nature not trusting people, but Reyna knew the old man was right: nature is made up with living things, nature has suffered a lot because of humans, and therefore nature does not have to trust humans.

"So, how do I gain the trust of nature?"

"You must talk to it."

Reyna looked dumbfounded. "And…how will I do that?"

Sensei Wu turned around, and picked up a small tree in a pot. What kind of tree, Reyna couldn't tell because it was still too small. "By talking to this," he replied.

Reyna sat in front of it and concentrated for many minutes. After what felt like forever, she heard what she thought could be the plant. It made a hissing sound but soon Reyna realized it was not a hiss, but the sound of leaves being picked up wind.

 _Hello?_ Reyna asked in her head.

 _Reyna Alonzo…_ the plant said, sounding like a hiss. _Kunoichi of nature…_

 _Um, yeah. I-_

 _I know your purpose_ , it said. _You come here for trust. I can trust you. You have loved nature all your life, so I can trust you._

Then the link between her and the plant was broken before the teal kunoichi could say anything. She came back to reality with a startle.

"Oh good, you're back!" Jay said happily.

"You were gone for almost 20 minutes," Cole told her.

"Woah, what?! That felt like 10!" Reyna exclaimed.

"Close enough," Lloyd muttered. Reyna noticed Zane was back, too.

"So, Reyna, what did the plant tell you?" Sensei Wu asked.

"It said it trusted me."

Sensei Wu smiled. "Good work. Training will resume in an hour."

The group began to break off. "Sensei, when will we learn Spinjitzu like the guys can?" Nya asked.

"What's Spinjitzu?" Reyna asked, confused.

"It is a martial art where the user becomes a tornado based on their colour and element," Sensei Wu replied. "But, to answer your question, Nya, you will learn it in time." With that, Sensei Wu walked off.

* * *

 **Um...hope you liked it? I have nothing else to say lol.**


	9. Dreaded Course

**I wanted this chapter to be done yesterday, but I had no idea what to write. I didn't want to get to meeting the third kunoichi so quickly and I wanted something in the middle, so I came up with this filler-chapter-but-not-a-filler-chapter. It has an important part in it which is why it isn't entirely a filler chapter, but most of it is, so sorry about that.**

 **So enjoy this filler chapter with a terribly written teasing scene in the middle! Yeah, it's pretty bad...I'm not good at romance-related teasing.**

* * *

Chapter 9: Dreaded Course

At dinner that night, the ninja, Nya, and even Sensei Wu were all having a good time by storytelling their adventures to Reyna. The ninja had told her how Sensei Wu found them, with Jay being the first and testing a new invention, but he ran flew straight through a giant poster and saw Sensei Wu sitting there, drinking tea. Next, Cole told her how he was climbing a mountain, and when he reached the top he saw Sensei Wu there, drinking tea. Then, Zane told her how he was meditating at the bottom of a pond. When Zane opened his eyes, he saw Sensei Wu next to him, drinking tea, to which everyone laughed.

"To this day, I'm still not sure how it is possible to drink tea underwater," Zane said. "Sensei, how did you do it?"

Sensei Wu only smiled, but did not answer. "A sensei never tells his secrets."

Finally, Kai told her how Sensei Wu came into his shop, the Four Weapons shop, and started saying things like how he didn't have a sword fit for a ninja. Then he explained how the Skeleton Army attacked, took the map of the Golden Weapons (to which Kai explained he had no idea the shop had that map), and kidnapped Nya when she tried helping Kai protect the village. Then Sensei Wu had explained to Kai that to save his sister, he could become a ninja, to which Kai accepted only to save Nya, but little did he know that he was going to have many more adventures besides that one.

Then they took turns explaining how they found their Golden Weapons, dragons, and unlocking their true potential.

"What's a true potential?" Reyna asked. Ah, poor Reyna. Sensei Wu had not told her many things that she needs to know.

Sensei Wu looked taken aback. "Sorry, Reyna, that is another thing I had forgotten to tell you about. It is when the ninja overcome an emotional problem that is not letting them be at peace with themselves. I am sure the ninja told you, correct?"

Reyna nodded. "Zane was the first, and he unlocked it when he discovered his past and that he was a robot-"

"Nindroid," Jay corrected.

"Yes, nindroid. Jay was next, and he unlocked it when he found out Nya's feelings for him," to which Jay and Nya both blushed a bit, "and that he needs to be himself and not someone else. Cole unlocked it next, and he unlocked it because his father was proud of him for who he was, not what he was, and it strengthened their relationship. Finally, Kai unlocked it because he realized he wasn`t the green ninja, but Lloyd was."

Sensei Wu closed his eyes and nodded. "I'm glad you remembered all that."

"If we found our true potential, that means the kunoichi will too, right?" Cole asked.

"Indeed. The kunoichi will find their true potential the same way you four did. But, enough talking." Sensei Wu got up. "You can tell all the stories you like some other time, but right now, it is time to rest. We must search for the kunoichi of light tomorrow." He turned around to go, but decided otherwise and turned back around to face them. "Also, Nya and Reyna." The two girls perked up at hearing their name. "Tomorrow you two will try the training course." The two kunoichi nodded.

Nobody said anything else. They got up and cleaned the table and went to bed.

* * *

The ninja went to bed, but not before teasing Cole a bit.

"So, when's the wedding?" Kai asked Cole with a smirk, although in the dark, nobody could see it.

"W-WHAT?!" Cole nearly shouted.

"Relax, Kai! They haven't even kissed yet!" Jay "scolded" the red ninja, but it was moreso a taunt to the black ninja.

Cole sighed in annoyance. "Jay, it's not like you've kissed Nya either. Only she did when she was stuck on that roller coaster back at Mega Monster Amusement Park."

The other three ninja laughed at Jay.

* * *

The next morning, everyone woke up early. Sensei Wu had told them the kunoichi will try the training course for the first time, so naturally they all wanted to see it.

They got ready and ate a quick breakfast made by Cole. When asked by him why they ate it so quickly, they simply said it was because they wanted to see the girls try the training course for the first time. The REAL reason was because it was so bad it was best to just get it over with.

Jay sighed. "Lucky Reyna. She's so lucky that she escaped Cole's bad cooking by eating breakfast before."

Lloyd nodded. "Yeah, that might've ended any chance they had for being a TRUE couple." The rest of the ninja except Cole (who was eating his own breakfast) laughed at Lloyd's remark.

The ninja walked out to the deck and saw the training course up and moving, but nobody was on it. Sensei Wu hadn't come yet so they would have to wait until he came.

Cole joined them in a few minutes.

"I see you all have come." a voice said. Everyone turned around. It was Sensei. "Good." he continued. "We can get started right now."

"Who's going to go first?" Reyna asked nervously. The training course looked dangerous, especially to someone who had never seen weapons before.

"I think Nya should go first. She has more experience in fighting than you, right?"

Reyna didn't say anything, but nodded.

Nya exhaled deeply. "Alright. Here goes." She jumped onto the beginning of the course, the carousel with the thin, wooden cut-outs. She made it past the first one, but then the second one came a little too quickly for her liking, and it hit her and she was knocked back off the course.

"Fail." her Sensei said.

Jay went to help her get up, but before he could get there she grunted and got up. She jumped back onto the training course, but this time she made it past the second one, but she couldn't time her jump right onto the next obstacle, so she got smacked by the third one and flew back off.

"Fail." the old man said again.

"Agh!" Nya grunted. "Why can't I get it?!"

"Nya," her brother consoled. "It's okay. I failed a lot before I finally got it."

"How about you try using this to help?" Sensei Wu asked her rhetorically and got a wooden sword out of nowhere. He handed it to her.

"Wait, but why does she get to try so many times?" Kai asked with a hint of annoyance that he didn't get to. "I could only do it once a day!"

"That was to teach you patience," his Sensei replied.

"But clearly that hasn't improved his patience," Cole said teasingly.

"Ahem!" Nya tried to get their attention. "Can I get back to doing this training course?"

"Yes. Go on, Nya." Sensei Wu told her.

Now with a sword to help her, she made it past the carousel without too much difficulty but the spinning wooden logs with "arms" sticking out proved to be troublesome. She got knocked around over there.

"Fail." Sensei Wu said for the third time. Nya got up and tried it many more times, but to the same result of getting knocked around at the second obstacle.

"Nya, try jumping over the wooden log things." Jay tried to help her complete it.

"Forget it!" his girlfriend spat. "Reyna can try this horror now!" At this, Sensei Wu's eyebrows shot up, but nobody noticed. It seemed he found out something…

Nya handed the kunoichi of nature the wooden sword and stormed off into the Bounty. Jay was going to go to talk to her, but Zane held him back.

"Just let her be for a bit," he advised. "For now, let us watch Reyna attempt the course."

Reyna looked nervous, but she tried it. At first, she went slowly, but after she realized going slow wouldn't help on a moving thing or in a real fight, she began to quicken her pace. She tried many times, but she couldn't even make it as far as Nya had gotten.

Reyna looked sad that she couldn't even get past the first obstacle, the carousel. Cole tried to console her. "It's okay, Reyna. You won't get it on your first day. Even I didn't." Reyna barely listened to what he had to say. She got up and briskly walked past him. Cole looked at the other with a clueless face, but they all shrugged and looked just as clueless as he was. They were all wondering why the new kunoichi didn't say anything.

In Sensei Wu's mind, however, were different thoughts. _So both of them don't want to fail. On top of that, they don't like showing that they failed._ A question directed to him from Lloyd abruptly brought his back.

"What are we going to do now, uncle?" his nephew asked.

"I will go meditate and drink my tea. In the meantime, I think you five should try out the training course again, too. You still need to be more…fit." He said the last word for lack of a better word. They were all fit, he knew that, but they had to be _ready_ is what he meant to say.

Cole grumbled something nobody heard, probably about him already being in tip-top shape physically, while the rest of them except Zane groaned.

"Yes, Sensei," the boys said and bowed to him.

* * *

Inside in the bridge, Nya was pacing the room, a bit upset at herself and the training course when Reyna walked in.

"You failed too?" Nya asked, not bothering to look at the teal kunoichi.

"Yeah. I didn't even get as far as you did. I couldn't time my jump to the next obstacle correctly."

Reyna thought on what Cole had told her. _It's okay, Reyna. You won't get it on your first day._ Suddenly, she felt bad for pretending she had completely ignored him, although she did actually listen to what he said.

"Cole was right." she said suddenly.

The cyan kunoichi only looked at her. "What?"

After I gave up on the course," she explained, "Cole said that I wouldn't get it on my first day. He was right."

Nya snorted. "He makes it sound like we're weak."

"I know Cole didn't mean it that way. After that, he also said he didn't either."

Nya looked a little more relieved, but she still looked a little fearful. "I'm sure Sensei has found out…"

The teal kunoichi looked confused. "Found out what?"

"My weakness." Now it was the more experiences kunoichi's turn to explain. "Kai once told me that when I fail, I tend to give up. I'm almost sure he noticed that."

Reyna looked amazed. "But how would he be able to know that? You tried a lot, not just once. You certainly don't look like a quitter to me."

Nya shook her head. "Trust me. If I know Sensei, he would've figured it out. He's wise and intelligent; I doubt that went over his head."

Reyna sighed. "Oh well. I'm sure we'll get to try it again." She decided to change the subject. "So are we getting close to the Sea of Sands?"

Nya's mood became a bit happier. "Yeah. We haven't reached it yet, but we will be in it soon."

"And then where's the Desert Temple?"

"It's about another hour into the Sea of Sands after we reach its borders, and then the town should be somewhere nearby."

"Well, I hope we get there soon, because this ship needs more girls!"

* * *

 **Next chapter they'll finally meet the third kunoichi, the kunoichi of light.**

 **Hope you liked it!**


	10. Finding Light

**Lol I'm still one day behind schedule...wanted to get this done yesterday but didn't have enough time. Anyways, in this chapter you'll meet Astra, the kunoichi of light (thanks BubbleEwa for the name!). Their hunch that she may be the kunoichi they're looking for wasn't told in this chapter; they just told her family that they're looking for the kunoichi of light, not that they think their daughter is the one.**

 **Want to know which ninja will get paired up with her? Read on to find out!**

* * *

Chapter 10: Finding Light

It was still afternoon, and the Bounty had just entered the Sea of Sands. Nya announced to everyone it would be about another hour or so before they reach the town near the Desert Pyramid.

Cole was in the ninjas' room. The rest of them were in the living room, playing video games. Cole told them he didn't want to join in, so at first they began to question and tease him, but eventually they understood. Even Jay seemed a bit less jolly than he usually was since Nya stormed away after her attempts at the training course.

Cole sat on his bed, thinking why Reyna would ignore him. Was she mad at him? No way. He hadn't even done anything! After thinking of some more possibilities, he shook his head and decided to ask her himself. He figured she'd be out on the deck, because she usually doesn't like being indoors, being the kunoichi of nature and all.

Cole headed out to the outer deck and saw Reyna looking out in the Sea of Sands, but all that was visible was sand until the horizon.

"Reyna," Cole spoke softly to not scare her like the last time he did this.

She darted her attention away from her thoughts to Cole. She looked a bit nervous. "Hi, Cole."

Cole walked up to her and looked at her instead of the sand far and below. Then he was reminded of something so he looked out towards the horizon. "You know, the Lost City of Ouroboros is somewhere out here in the Sea of Sands."

Reyna looked on with curiosity. "What's the Lost City of Ouroboros?"

"Have you heard of the Serpentine?" Reyna nodded. "Yeah, well, the Serpentine wanted to destroy Ninjago with a giant snake called The Great Devourer. Pythor, the last Serpentine of the Anacondrai tribe, believed that The Great Devourer was trapped in Ouroboros. He and the other four Serpentine tribes set out to find it. That's where our second set of adventures started."

"Then what was the first? Finding the Golden Weapons?"

Cole nodded. "Defeating the Serpentine and The Great Devourer was our first real, dangerous goal we had."

Suddenly, Reyna did something unexpected. She ran straight into him and wrapped her arms around him. Cole was stunned and didn't say anything at the move. In fact, he was kind of hoping she would do something like this to see whether or not she felt the same way about him. He looked down at her straight, brown hair, but he couldn't see her green eyes. Brown hair and green eyes wasn't something he'd ever seen, and it wasn't something he thought would make someone look good, but Reyna did it.

Reyna, being oblivious to Cole looking at her and thinking about her, found her mind wandering to a little conversation she had with Jay in the kitchen.

" _Hey, Jay," she had greeted the blue ninja. "What are you doing in here?"_

" _Oh, hi, Reyna" he had replied. "I'm just looking for any leftovers from Zane's cooking. Cole made a bad lunch, and I want something better to eat."_

" _Is Cole's cooking that bad?"_

 _Jay nodded. "Yeah. I hope you don't break up with him because of his bad cooking."_

 _Reyna was aware of her cheeks becoming red. "I-I'm not even with him!"_

 _Jay chuckled. "Don't deny it. A word of advice: don't make him mad. He's so strong, he'll break your heart!"_

 _Reyna was baffled. "He'll-he'll break my heart? What?"_

" _A joke," he explained. "My point is that he's really, really, strong; strongest on the Bounty, in fact."_

" _He's really that strong?" Reyna was surprised. Sure, Cole definitely looked strong, and he had made that remark of having "lifted a car" before, but he doesn't seem as strong as Jay made it out to be._

 _Jay nodded again. "But don't worry, he wouldn't hurt you. He likes you too."_

 _The blush came back. "Um, well, thanks. See you around then!" she blurted out and ran from the kitchen while Jay laughed at her._

Cole's chest and abs felt very strong and solid. "Jay was right." she said suddenly.

Cole looked suspicious. "About what?"

"He said you were really strong. You do feel strong."

Cole had trouble finding his tongue. "Yeah, well, um, I am the earth ninja which makes me, um, stronger than I-" Reyna silenced him by doing another unexpected thing: she gave him a quick peck on the cheek. Just as quickly as she kissed him, she let go of him and turned away, feeling a bit embarrassed. Cole looked stunned once again.

"What was that for?" he finally asked after minutes of silence.

She shrugged, though she was still turned around, facing the other way.

Cole shifted a bit awkwardly before changing the subject. "So, would you like me to help you try and complete the training course?"

She turned around, a little surprised by the offer. "We're allowed to do that? I mean, without Sensei?"

He nodded. "Sensei wouldn't mind because we've done it before. It's not like we can only train when he tells us to."

Reyna hesitated, but she made up her mind. "Alright. Let's do it." She smiled.

For the next 45 minutes or so, Cole taught her how to do the training course better. It involved lots of correct timing, jumping high, and balance. She used the wooden sword again while Cole told her tips. She wasn't athletic enough to go over the entire second part of the course in two jumps like Cole was. She at least made it past the carousel with the help of the sword and proper timing. Cole had made her look at the carousel and the next part for a few minutes and figure out when the best time was to jump. It all seemed the same to her at first, but when she kept concentrating she realized the perfect time to jump. In action, it was much harder since she didn't have minutes to keep looking at it. Finally, she was exhausted of jumping around, but she admired Cole for looking cheerful and he didn't look tired in the least.

They were so busy watching each other do the training course that they didn't notice the Bounty had begun to descend slowly until Nya's announcement came. "Everybody, we're about to reach Merriden, the town in the middle of the Sea of Sands and the town we'll find the kunoichi of light in!"

Everyone, including Nya and Sensei Wu, came out to the deck to find the training course up and moving, with Cole and Reyna standing next to it.

"You two were _training_ all this time?" Kai asked rhetorically.

Cole gave what looked like a yes and a no. "I was only helping her how to do the training course."

"Aw, why can't you two help me?" Nya pouted towards Jay and Kai.

The blue ninja rubbed the back of his head. "Well, you never asked…"

"Enough." Sensei Wu said calmly. "We are about to reach Merriden, the town we will find the kunoichi of light in." He looked over the rail of the ship. "It looks like there is a sandstorm there."

"Cole, can't you make it go away?" Lloyd asked. The others thought he meant it as a joke, but it seemed the green ninja was being serious.

"Hey, I'm the earth ninja, not the sand ninja!"

Lloyd shrugged. "Earth, sand, same thing."

"Lloyd is right," Zane put in. "Sand is technically a part of the earth because it is made of rock and mineral particles, the same thing rocks are, only more divided. You use rocks when you summon your earth powers, and sand is the same thing."

Cole rolled his eyes. "Zane, you should be a scientist or a teacher or something, not a ninja."

The others laughed at the little lesson Zane gave Cole.

"Alright, we're about to reach," Nya informed the others. "I'll go back inside and land the Bounty."

In a few minutes, the Bounty had landed on the sand. The sandstorm was still going, so it would be likely nobody was out wandering around the town.

Zane couldn't help but wonder what the third kunoichi will be like. He was beginning to feel lonely on the Bounty. Sure, he had his brothers and sisters for company, but he wanted something a bit more…something like what Jay and Nya had, or what Cole and Reyna were turning into. He was looking for love, and perhaps one of these kunoichi will have what he is looking for. _Not now. We have other jobs to do._ he reminded himself.

The ninja, kunoichi, and Sensei Wu all got off the Bounty and got a better look of the town. From above, it didn't look like anything was that big, but from ground level everything was decently sized. Merriden was not as big as Raylea, but it was still pretty big.

They walked straight, and off around a hundred meters to their left there was a sign, probably a welcome sign, but they couldn't read what was on it. They shielded their eyes as best as they could with their arms, but it was of little use: the sand was flying around everywhere.

They continued walking straight into the sandstorm, and passed by some houses. All of the windows they could see where blocked by the shutters, which were pulled down, so they couldn't see any faces or even eyes. At last, they came across a house whose windows weren't covered, and they saw a pair of eyes looking through. When they saw the eyes, they widened, and the person must've walked away because they couldn't see their eyes anymore. Then the door to the house opened a bit, which only Zane noticed.

"Everyone, look! The door opened!" he cried out and pointed to the door, only to get his mouth full of sand.

Everyone turned and looked to where he was pointing and saw it was opened a bit.

"Quick, come inside!" a voice said from inside the house. "You'll be safe here!"

Being ninja and all, they should've been more cautious, because it could've had led to danger. But at that moment, all they were concerned about was getting out of that sandstorm. They headed in quickly, single file.

When everyone got inside, they saw the person that had opened the door was a girl around their age (not Sensei Wu's age, of course). She had long blond hair, and in the dim lighting Zane guessed her eye colour was a light blue. She was also shorter than the two kunoichi. All in all, she looked quite pretty to Zane.

Then Zane got a good look of the house. It was mostly lit by candles, although he could see two lights in the ceiling, one near and one at the back of the house. The house itself didn't have much decoration, but he wouldn't expect much of it simply because they were in the middle of the Sea of Sands.

"Our thanks for getting us out of that sandstorm." Sensei Wu told the girl.

The girl said nothing, but smiled.

"So, uh, does this happen often around here?" Jay asked her. She nodded.

Two people that seemed like the girl's parents came to the front of the house and looked at the strangers with a baffled look on their faces.

"Astra, who are these strangers?" the man asked.

 _So her name is Astra…_ Zane thought.

"I don't know…I didn't ask…" the girl replied in a voice that sounded like it belonged to a girl years younger than her.

"Well, how'd they get in?" the woman asked with concern in her voice.

"They were outside in the sandstorm and I saw them through the window…I told them to come here because they'd be safe." she told her parents shyly. Judging by how she acted, Zane could guess she was a shy and timid girl.

"Well, then, who are you and what is your business here? And why are you wearing these weird clothes?" the father asked them.

"Don't be so rude to them," his wife chided.

And so Sensei Wu explained to them how they he is the Sensei for the ninja that protect Ninjago, and there is a new prophecy explaining the give kunoichi, how they found two of them, and they came to Merriden because they would find the third one in this town.

The father scratched his chin. "I'm terribly sorry if I sounded rude. Allow me to introduce myself. You can call me Mr. Nikola, and this is my wife. This is our only daughter, Astra."

Zane was sure that Astra would be the kunoichi of light they were searching for. Sensei Wu had told them when they went looking for the kunoichi of nature that they would have the gut feeling. Zane had a gut feeling she was one of the new chosen ones, and also his chosen one. He only hoped his Sensei had the same hunch…

"Please, come sit down," Mrs. Nikola beckoned the group to their living room. "I'll get some chairs so we can all sit." They all walked towards the living room.

"Can you all introduce yourselves?" Astra asked.

"Sure. I'm Jay, the ninja of lightning," said the one in blue.

"I'm Cole, ninja of earth," the black ninja introduced himself.

"I'm Nya, kunoichi of water," said the girl in the light blue.

"I'm Kai, ninja of fire," the one in red said.

"I'm Reyna, kunoichi of nature," the other girl, the one in a dark green said.

"And I'm Zane, ninja of ice. A pleasure to meet you." the last one in white told her. He seemed quite handsome to her, with blond hair that stood up nearly unnaturally and a glint of icy blue in his eyes.

They all sat down and talked about general things, like what the town was like and what the weather around here was like.

Then the hunch Zane had hit Sensei Wu as well.

Could Astra be the kunoichi of light?

* * *

 **Next chapter, Astra will make her decision whether she wants to become the kunoichi of light or not. Also, I'm going to make things a little more...hmm, how should I put it... _interesting_ for Astra. Something people wouldn't have thought about for her...you'll find out either soon or close to middle-end of the story. I don't know, I'll have to decide whether I want to tell you all quickly, or give hints and then finally say it later.**

 **Hope you liked it!**


	11. Leaving the Sand

**Ugh I had so much trouble writing this chapter, I had no idea what to write.**

 **Anyways, to clarify what I meant by making her situation a bit more interesting was...ah, forget it, you'll find out in some chapter in the future. I'll just tell you that Zane and Astra are both keeping a BIG secret from each other: Zane that he's a robot, and Astra...something else. There is a bit of a hint in this chapter what it is, but it's so small it might as well not even be a hint.**

 **Oh yeah I also changed Astra's hair colour to blond (it was black before) because...I don't know, just seems better, and black for the kunoichi of wind just seems better in my mind.**

 **Anyway, enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 11: Leaving the Sand

Sensei Wu had no way of knowing Astra was destined to be the kunoichi of light outside of the gut feeling, which he certainly had.

Zane leaned in to his teacher. "Sensei, are you thinking I'm thinking?"

Wu nodded slightly. "I probably am. Do you think Astra is the kunoichi of light?"

"Yes, I have that feeling as well."

Mr. Nikola interrupted their little conversation. "So, about finding this kunoichi of light. What makes you so sure you'll find her here?"

Sensei Wu stood up. "I was just thinking about that. One of my pupils, Zane," he gestured to the ice ninja, "came to a conclusion with me: we both think your daughter, Astra, is the kunoichi of light."

Mr. and Mrs. Nikola were shocked, as were the ninja and kunoichi, but most surprised was Astra herself. Her mouth gaped wide open. Mr. Nikola also stood up. "How can you be so sure that Astra is the one you're looking for?"

"Mr. Nikola, we have no leads as to who we are looking for," Zane told him. "We only have a gut feeling to go off of, and Sensei and I both have the same feeling that she is the kunoichi of light that we are looking for."

"And also the fact that the kunoichi we find ends up being paired with one of us, the ninja," Lloyd said teasingly, directed towards Jay, Cole, and now Zane. The Nikola family gave the green ninja a puzzled look, but ignored him at the same time.

"So your basing our daughter's destiny of being a kunoichi as a gut feeling?" Mrs. Nikola asked as if she didn't hear right. "How can you base such an important thing in a gut feeling?"

Sensei Wu sighed. "As Zane told you, there is no other way we can know. I am sure Astra is the kunoichi of light."

Mr. Nikola thought for a minute, and then sat back down. "Astra, do you want this?" She shook her head for a no, and looked a bit scared now.

 _She seems to be very shy and passive, and doesn't take control of her life much._ Zane noted.

Mrs. Nikola hesitated. "Astra, I think you should go."

Sensei Wu nodded. "The fate of the world depends on it, Astra. There is a prophecy, and prophecies are never wrong."

Astra began to look even more burdened. Poor girl. This may have been a bit too much for her to think of. She wasn't even sure if she could ever become a kunoichi!

"I-I don't really want to become a kunoichi…" she murmered.

Sensei Wu gritted his teeth. Astra didn't seem like one who will give in easily. It'll take a lot of pushing to get to her, and they needed her as the prophecy says. "I am guessing you two may want to tell her something in private?" he asked directed towards Mr. and Mrs. Nikola. The two nodded. "Very well then. We will…go outside. It seems like the sandstorm has died down." The group got up and headed outside, while Mr. and Mrs. Nikola smiled at them as they left.

Once they got outside they saw that the sandstorm had died down like their Sensei had said.

"Sensei, why did you tell them that we would come outside?" Zane asked.

"I had a feeling that Astra's parents wanted to tell her something," he answered.

"A gut feeling?" Jay smiled.

Wu smiled back. "Yes, a gut feeling." That got them all laughing.

Inside the house, Astra's parents looked at each other, thinking how they should tell her. "Astra," her mother said. "After thinking about it, I think you should go with them." She smiled at her daughter.

"Yes, I think so too," her father said. "Sensei Wu says the fate of the world depends on it…I don't think you can say no to that, can you?"

Astra sighed. "On one hand, I want to because I want to do something important before…you know. But on the other hand, I don't think I can become what they're looking for…"

Mrs. Nikola sighed. "Well, I believe you can! I think you'll help them save the world!"

"But still, what if I fail to live up to their expectations? I'll just become a burden."

Mr. and Mrs. Nikola looked at each other, and then put their heads down a bit. Their daughter lacked self-esteem, and they had no idea how they could help her. But to them, Sensei Wu seemed like the perfect person to help her: becoming a kunoichi may just give her more self-esteem and make her less shy.

"At the end of the day, it is your decision," Mr. Nikola told his daughter. "We just think it would be better for you if you go with them."

Astra thought for some minutes. She didn't like being out in the middle of nowhere like she was right now, but she didn't think she had what it takes to become the kunoichi of light. _Why me, of all people?_ But then she thought of Zane. He looked like he could help her every step of the way, and he seemed nice. And Sensei Wu looked wise and helpful, although she imagined him to be some sort of wizard that always spoke cryptically. Then she thought of the fate of the world, and what would happen if she said no here. Will the world as she knows it be destroyed? Conquered? She had no clue what could happen if she says no, but she didn't want to find out.

"So, have you made up your mind?" her mother asked her gently. Astra nodded.

* * *

"Ugh, what's taking her so long?" Kai complained.

"Kai, hearing things like being needed to save the world is kind of…scary." Nya chided her brother. "I was happy but also surprised and worried when I first found out I was the kunoichi of water."

"Yeah, and I was a bit scared too," Reyna put in. "And Astra seems like she'd be even more scared and worried than either of us when she heard it."

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Kai said thoughtfully.

Just then, the door opened, and they saw Mrs. Nikola. "Astra has made her decision. All of you can come in."

Hearing that brought a smile to Zane's face, but he was also anxious to hear what her answer. They all stepped inside and when Zane went through, Mrs. Nikola smiled at him knowingly. All of them sat down in the same places as when they first arrived.

"So, Astra, you have made up your mind?" Sensei Wu did the talking. She nodded. "Then what is your decision? Will you become the kunoichi of light?"

"Yes. I'll try."

Everybody became happy, and the ninja and the two kunoichi cheered as if they won an award or something. Zane smiled, but was also a bit confused since she had said _I'll try._ "Pardon my asking," he said in the midst of the cheering, "but what do you mean by 'I'll try'?"

She looked a bit sad. "I don't know if I can become the kunoichi of light, but I will try." The ninja and kunoichi sighed, seeing how she didn't have much self-esteem. They would have to work on fixing that.

"Of course you can become the kunoichi of light." Sensei Wu now talked. "You reached out to people that came from afar – like us – just like the light of stars trillions and quadrillions of kilometers away do to our planet."

Astra thought on the old man's words. Perhaps he was right, and she was just doubting herself a lot. "Well, I'll join you. But let me pack my stuff, okay?"

They all smiled at her. "Yes, go ahead, pack whatever you like." Wu told her.

Mrs. Nikola checked the clock. "Oh, my! It's almost dinner time! Would you be staying for dinner?"

Wu looked at his students. "Sure, we'd love to."

"Allow me to help with dinner preparations." Zane offered.

"No, it's okay, I can handle it."

"No, I insist. There are many more people here today than there usually would, right? I can help you."

Mrs. Nikola smiled. "Well, alright. I suppose you can help. There are a lot of people here."

Zane went to the kitchen to help prepare dinner, while the rest stayed in the living room. "What do you say I give you a tour of the town?" Mr. Nikola smiled.

"Yeah, sure, I'm up for that," Lloyd immediately answered.

"I suppose I'd like to see the town too," Cole said.

"I guess we'd all like to go explore," Jay answered for everyone.

"Sensei, why don't you come with us?" Nya asked the old man.

"Yeah, come on, Sensei!" Kai urged him.

"Well I don't see why not. I am tired of sitting anyway." Sensei Wu got up and the rest did as well. Mr. Nikola went to tell his wife that he was taking them out for a tour of the town, and they'd be back soon.

When they went out for the tour, they were amazed at how big this town actually was. They had a decent selection of restaurants to choose from if they got tired of eating at home – a grill, a place that served Mexican food, another place that served mostly oriental food, and an Italian place. They also had a town bakery. Outside of restaurants, they had a grocery store that had pretty much any food they would want to eat.

Then Mr. Nikola showed them what they called the "sports ground" because that was where people went to play sports. It was paved rather than being sand, and it looked big enough to play 2v2 hockey comfortably, but that was only because using a stick needs more space, but it was big enough to play 3v3 soccer or basketball.

Finally, he showed some other recreational things such as their small movie theatre, an outdoor stage for concerts or performances, and an arcade.

They headed back to the Nikola house to see if dinner was ready. When they got back, Mrs. Nikola told them it would be about another 10 minutes. Astra was still in her room upstairs, packing her belongings to get ready to live with the ninja and kunoichi.

For dinner, they had a grand feast of pizza, onion rings, fresh potato chips, and a salad. They all loved it, of course, because some of it was Zane's cooking which they still found as the best and the stuff Mrs. Nikola made was also really good.

"I'm done packing, so when are we leaving?" Astra asked Sensei Wu after dinner was over.

"I think we can leave tonight, unless you want to stay another night here," he replied.

"I'm fine if we went right now."

Sensei Wu nodded. "Then we will leave in some time. Of course, you'll get to say goodbye to your parents."

* * *

Finally, in about 25 minutes, they were ready to leave. Mrs. Nikola nearly had tears in her eyes because her daughter was going to leave her for who knows how long.

"Astra, we'll miss you so much, but we know it'll be a good experience for you," Mrs. Nikola hugged her daughter tightly.

 _Her parents seem to think of becoming a kunoichi as a summer job,_ Zane noted. _I don't think they know becoming one of us is much more dangerous than that…_

"Yes, I'll miss you too." Astra replied, hugging her mother back tightly. Then she let go and moved on to her father. "Dad, I'll miss you a lot too." She hugged him tightly as well.

Mr. Nikola held his daughter in a tight embrace. "Take care, okay? We believe in you. You can become the kunoichi of light, and you'll help save the world."

"But where are you going?" Mrs. Nikola asked nobody in particular. "I mean, how are you getting to wherever you're going next?"

"Oh, we have a flying ship called the _Destiny's Bounty_. We take that everywhere." Jay answered her.

"Mind if we see her off until then?" Mr. Nikola asked.

"Of course not," Sensei Wu replied happily. "We'll be happy to show you the Bounty."

They walked towards the Bounty and Mr. and Mrs. Nikola said their goodbyes to Astra one last time, and waved. The ship was set and soon was off to the next location, to find the next kunoichi: the kunoichi of wind.

* * *

 **Yeah so they're off to find the next kunoichi, the kunoichi of wind.**

 **Nothing else to say. Hope you liked it!**


	12. May the Light be With You

**Sorry for the delay! Wanted to write one more chapter of King Me! before I focus almost fully on this one.**

 **Anyways, this chapter isn't anything special. You get to be in Kai and Astra's minds for a bit but that's really it.**

 **Also I realized I hadn't added when this story takes place, because it is a big mix of everything that has happened so far in the show with some things changed so I have added that into the author's note in the first chapter.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 12: May the Light be With You

Back on the Bounty, Nya gave Astra a quick tour of their flying ship before they went to bed. It was the same as when she gave the tour to Reyna, showing her the kitchen, television room, bridge, training room, exercise room, the training equipment on the deck, the ninjas' room, and their own room. Then they all gathered on the deck because Sensei Wu had something to tell them.

"What do you have to tell us, Sensei ?" Cole asked, being the leader he is.

"I wanted to tell Astra that her training begins tomorrow." Said kunoichi looked a little nervous.

"Anything else?" Jay asked with a yawn. "I'm ready to go to sleep."

"Yes, one more thing. Tomorrow, at dawn, all of you will participate in sunrise exercise. No exceptions."

That got a groan from all of them, but they knew he was right. They needed to get back in shape again. "Yes, Sensei," everyone except Astra, who had to get used to the "yes Sensei" part, sounded like zombies. After all, they were tired.

Morning came too fast for Astra. They ate a quick breakfast made by Nya, then got right outside on to the deck. Surprisingly, their Sensei was already there, and of course he was drinking tea with his eyes closed.

"You're all late by exactly two minutes." he announced.

 _How can he tell without a watch or a clock or anything?_ Astra wondered.

Everyone but the two newer kunoichi became a bit uneasy. They knew he would usually make them train a bit longer if they were late.

"No matter," Wu said as he finished his tea and stood up. "It is time for sunrise exercise."

"Um, what's sunrise exercise?" Reyna asked, being new to this.

"All of you will do the stretches I do at the same time everyday," Wu replied.

"So all we have to do is copy you?" Astra asked, to which her Sensei nodded.

"First, all of you get in a line." Wu commanded them, and the five ninja and three kunoichi did as he said. "Now, do the swooping crane." Wu lifted his arms up and stood on one foot. The ninja and kunoichi copied him. They held that position for 10 seconds before Wu moved on to the next one. "Next, the pinching crab." He bent his back a bit and still had his arms lifted up, but this time his arms from elbows down were a bit in front of him, as opposed to stretched out beside him in the swooping crane.

After 10 seconds of holding it in that position, Wu returned to a normal stance. "Now I will see your physical abilities, but mostly for the kunoichi. You five," Wu pointed at the ninja, "can do 100 push-ups in the meantime."

Cole stretched out his hands and legs. "Only 100? That's easy." Reyna and Astra stared at him like "are you crazy?!"

The five ninja got down to do their 100 push-ups, while Wu studied the girls. "Nya, I know your physical ability is already good, but can you do a handstand?"

"Sure thing." Nya did a flip and landed on her hands and stood there for 10 seconds, as Sensei Wu directed her.

[word for one hand from Stiix and Stones] "Now one hand!" Wu ordered her. Nya hesitated, but jumped on to one hand and held the position, but it was clear she was trying really hard to stay in that position.

"Sensei, I'm done!" Cole called out to his teacher with a smile on his face. He wiped any dust off his hands. Reyna and Astra looked at the black ninja with a bewildered look because of how fast he finished his hundred push-ups. Kai soon got up, followed by Lloyd, Zane and then Jay.

"Good, then do another hundred!" Wu told him. He barely even heard what Cole had said. Jay and Lloyd groaned, but got down to do another hundred anyway. "Okay, Nya," Wu told her female pupil, "you can stop now."

With a sigh of relief, Nya bounced back up onto two feet.

"Astra, can you do a handstand?" Sensei Wu asked the kunoichi of nature.

"Um, I don't think so." the shy girl replied.

Wu nodded, having come prepared to hear that answer from Astra and/or Reyna. "Then you can do one against the rail. Reyna will hold your feet."

Reyna looked surprised that she had been chosen, but she nodded regardless. The two kunoichi went towards the rail.

"Wait, I almost forgot!" Wu suddenly shouted. The two girls froze and looked at him. "Astra, you have not yet gotten your kunoichi outfit. I will give it to you."

"You mean like what Nya, Reyna, and the ninja are wearing?"

"Yes, but only like what Nya and Reyna are wearing; not the ninja."

Astra nodded, and so did Wu. "NINJA GO!" he shouted and burst into his golden tornado of Spinjitzu. Before Astra could escape, the tornado caught her and she felt like she was spinning around as well. Before she knew it, the tornado was gone and what stood in its place was her new teacher. She looked down at herself. She wore similar clothes to what the ninja did, except being yellow, and she had the signature kunoichi "mask" covering her mouth,

"Wow." was all Astra could muster.

Wu closed his eyes and lowered his head a bit. "Now you may continue with the handstand."

Astra looked and felt uncomfortable. "Um, how do I get on my hands?"

"Try doing a flip," Nya suggested, but their teacher just shook his head.

"A person that has never done a handstand most likely will not be able to do a flip to get into the handstand position," Wu explained. "I think it would be best if you lay flat and then Reyna picks you up from your feet and gets you into the handstand position."

Astra laid flat on her back, and Reyna picked her up from the feet as Sensei Wu had explained to them. A few moments later, Astra was doing a handstand, but with some help from Reyna. Even with support, Astra found it hard to stay in that position, and she wondered Nya could do it so easily. Astra only stayed like that for a few seconds, until she found her hands and arms shaking and the next thing she knew she landed on her head and her feet slipped out of Reyna's grasp, so her feet came crashing down as well.

"Ouch," Nya winced, and even Sensei Wu looked a bit worried. Zane got up because he saw Astra fall over.

"Astra, are you okay?" he asked.

"Yeah, I think I'm fine," the yellow kunoichi mumbled.

"That did not turn out as well as I'd like, but…fine." Wu sighed. The ninja got up from their second round of their 100 push-ups. "Reyna, I was going to let Astra hold your feet, but she does not seem fine enough to do so."

"No, I'm fine, I can do it," the newest kunoichi insisted.

"If you think you are fine enough to do it, then I will not stop you."

Astra nodded. Reyna started her handstand the same way as Astra had done, and Astra picked her up by the feet. Reyna was able to hold out on the handstand against the railing for the whole 10 seconds.

"Good." her instructor praised her slightly. "Now, we will move onto Astra's training: controlling her element."

"So now comes the lecture about light?" Jay asked in a joking manner.

"Yes. Light is a very defensive element, such as bending the light around anything, even yourself, to make it invisible, although dust can expose it. You would also have the ability to blind people for a short amount of time with a beam of light."

"Similar to a flash bomb?" Lloyd jumped in.

Wu nodded. "Light isn't only a defensive element, however. An experienced Master of Light can create beams of light so powerful and hot that they can melt things with it. You can have all these powers if you train, of course."

Astra hesitated, but thought there would be no harm in trying. "I'll try."

"Should she start by bending sunlight?" Zane asked.

Wu shook his head. "Sunlight is natural light, and natural light may be too powerful for someone who is trying for the first time. We should start with artificial light. Flashlight, anyone?"

"I'll go get one." Zane rushed off to get the flashlight, though they didn't really _need_ one on the Bounty. They had fire from Kai, lightning from Jay in case the power goes out, and now (hopefully), light from Astra.

Zane returned shortly holding a red flashlight. "This is the only flashlight we have on the Bounty," he told them.

"Zane, can you turn it on and flash it at her?" Wu rhetorically asked. "But not her eyes!"

Zane did as he was told and the light from the flashlight streamed onto Astra's stomach area, though it was hard to tell because she was already wearing a bright yellow.

"So how do I do this?" Astra asked. "And what's the goal?"

Sensei Wu thought for a moment. He hadn't thought of what the kunoichi of light was to do with the light. "Cole, could you stand next to Zane?" Cole looked at Sensei Wu strangely, but walked over and stood on the left of his nindroid brother. "A little more to the left, please." Cole waddled over two more steps. "Perfect. Now, Astra, to answer your questions: the goal is to direct the light on Cole's gi. As for how you will do this, you must let the light into you. Accept it, absorb it. Then redirect it to Cole."

"Um, okay, I'll try."

And Astra did try. She concentrated, and wondered how she would absorb the light like Sensei Wu told her, but she had no idea how. She then pretended to try, but really she was still hoping to find a way.

"You are not trying," Sensei Wu suddenly said aloud. That broke Astra's thoughts.

"Yeah, I'm not. I have no idea how to absorb the light. Maybe this all a mistake. What if I'm not the kunoichi of light?" Astra ranted, annoyed.

Sensei Wu stroked his beard. "Let us try something a little different," to which Astra groaned on the inside. "Instead of absorbing it, you can try to make into a ball of light, and then redirect it to Cole. Perhaps that will be easier."

Then Astra tried what her teacher told her. It didseem easier in the yellow kunoichi's mind. _Focus, Astra,_ she told herself. _Light. Bend. Light. Circle._ Her hands were in the same position as they would be if she was holding an actual ball. Slowly, she began to feel a mass of energy in her hands, although it was a bit weak.

"She's doing it!" Reyna exclaimed.

That did it. It broke Astra's focus and the ball of light burst and fell into the beam of light coming from the flashlight.

Sensei Wu gave a disapproving look towards Reyna, but then turned and smiled at Astra. "Good. You got some progress." Then towards Zane: "You may now turn off the flashlight."

"So does this mean today's training is over?" Kai asked with excitement in his voice. His teacher nodded.

* * *

Kai was a bit annoyed and upset. He was furiously pacing the ninjas' room. "Why am I always last? I'm always the last one!" he practically scolded himself. Jay and Cole were playing video games, Lloyd was reading comics, and Zane…well, Zane was doing whatever robots do in their free time. "Even Zane got a girlfriend before I did! How is that possible?"

"Ahem," a voice said from the entrance to the room. Kai looked over and saw Lloyd. "Mind if I come in, or will you kill me?" he asked with a smirk.

"Lloyd! Uh, yeah, come in, if you want." Kai said awkwardly. "Soooo…how much did you hear? Of me talking to myself, I mean."

Lloyd still had a smirk on his face. "All of it." He laughed at Kai's look of horror. "But don't worry, I won't tell any of the others. I'm the other ninja that doesn't have a girlfriend either."

Kai rolled his eyes. "Half the girls in Ninjago would fall for you anyways."

The energy ninja snorted. "Same could be said for you."

The fire ninja had a modest blush as red as his gi.

"So what were you saying about being last in everything?" Lloyd asked.

Kai looked glum. "Of the four of us – before you became a ninja – I was the last ninja to be added to the team, and last to reach my true potential. It's annoying, that I'm always last."

Lloyd put a hand on his brother's shoulder. "'Better late than never', is what they say."

Kai chuckled.

Meanwhile, in the kunoichi's room…

* * *

Astra sat on her bed in the kunoichi's room. Nya and Reyna had asked if she wanted to watch a movie on their TV, but she had declined. She thought of how she was going to tell Zane about her big secret. She hadn't told anyone, not even the other kunoichi, about her secret, but she felt like she at least needed to tell Zane. Her thoughts were interrupted by the white ninja himself…

* * *

 **Zane will tell Astra that he's a robot in the next chapter. You'll also find out Astra's secret. Unfortunately, the next chapter won't be coming until the week after the one coming (meaning 24th and onwards) because I will not have access to a computer or Internet until next Saturday.**

 **I also have lots of fun stuff planned to stay tuned in the coming chapters (including the ninja and kunoichi getting weapons, maybe a series of mini-villains, and more)!**

 **Hope you liked it!**


	13. I Have a Confession

**Sorry for the delay, but like I said before, I won't and didn't have access to a computer for a week. Anyways, in this chapter you'll find out Astra's secret, her reaction to Zane telling her he's a robot, and some Jay + Nya stuff (had so much difficulty thinking how I could add more stuff about Jay into this) which goes horribly wrong.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 13: I Have a Confession

Astra sat on her bed in the kunoichi's room. Nya and Reyna had asked if she wanted to watch a movie on their TV, but she had declined. She thought of how she was going to tell Zane about her big secret. She hadn't told anyone, not even the other kunoichi, about her secret, but she felt like she at least needed to tell Zane. Her thoughts were interrupted by the white ninja himself…

"Um, Astra?" he said. "I'm sorry if I disturbed you."

Astra got up and put a smile on her face. "No, it's fine. I was just thinking about you, and here you are!"

Zane tilted his head. "You were thinking about me?" He tried thinking of a way he can keep the conversation going long enough for him to be confident enough to tell her he's a robot. He wanted to tell her that, but he wasn't sure how she'd take it. _I have to tell her sometime…_ he thought to himself.

Astra's smile dropped and so did her head. "I wanted to tell you something…" she muttered.

Zane looked surprised. "So do I. I'll go first." Now it was Astra's turn to look surprised, but she also had curiosity in her eyes. Zane took a breath. "Astra, look." She looked up, and he lifted up his ninja gi and opened the panel in his chest-stomach region. Astra screamed at first, but calmed down after she saw wires.

"You're a…robot?" Astra's eyes were practically glaring at the wires. Zane nodded. Astra sighed, and her head went down again.

Zane noticed that the kunoichi of light was looking a bit glum. "What's the matter? Do you not care that I am a robot?"

She sighed again and shook her head. "Not really."

Zane walked over to the bed and sat down beside her and then closed his chest panel. There was silence between the new couple for a few minutes, until Zane began to hear weeping coming from Astra. "Astra, please don't cry. Just tell me what the matter is, and I'll do my best to help." He tried putting his hand on her shoulder, but she pushed it away, not hard, but it worried the nindroid all the same.

Astra stopped her crying and looked up right into his glowing icy blue eyes, and at that moment she knew why they seemed to glow unnaturally: because _he_ was unnatural. "You can't help me with this problem!" she told the white ninja fiercely, but when she saw the look of worry and a bit of fear on his face, she calmed down and became herself again. "You can't help me…" she repeated, this time a lot quieter.

"Why not? And why do you seem to not care that I am a robot?"

"I…I do and I don't," Astra hesitated to not seem like a heartless person. "It's just that it…it just doesn't matter." she continued slowly.

"Why does it not matter?"

Astra took a deep breath. "Look, Zane, I do like you. Honest, I do. But…a relationship…it won't work out…"

The ice ninja was alarmed. "But why not? Our feelings are mutual."

The yellow kunoichi sighed again. How was she supposed to tell him without breaking his figurative heart? "You see…the problem is…death."

Zane nodded and agreed. "Yes, only death would be able to end our relationship."

"No! I mean, yes, but that's exactly the problem. I don't have much time…"

Zane looked at her, tears coming to his eyes. "You mean to say…you will pass on soon?" Astra nodded. "But…how…why?!"

Astra sighed once more. This was going to be a long and sad story. "I have a disease. I'm not sure if you've heard of it, but you may have because it's pretty common and also quite deadly. It's called leukemia."

Zane's eyes widened a bit, but returned to normal. "Yes, that disease is in my database. But…there is treatment for it…why can't you get any?"

Astra looked down at her feet. "It costs too much money. Our family doesn't have enough to pay for all that. The doctors say I have a month and a half to live, which is why I joined you guys. I joined you so that I can do something useful in my life before I die."

"But…did you ever get anything to treat it?"

Astra nodded. "I got some about a year ago, but none of it worked so it was all a waste of money. It did more harm than good. We tried asking for donations, but very few people were ready to give anything and those that did didn't give much. Now, I don't have much time left, which is why I want to help you guys save the world before I go."

Zane looked horrified. "Don't say that! Nothing will happen! We'll…we'll do something."

The yellow kunoichi shook her head. "There's nothing we can do now. It's too late."

But the white ninja was adamant. "No. I'm sure there's still something we can do."

Astra looked at him. "Like what?"

"We'll know soon enough." Astra didn't know it, but Zane did have a plan. "Astra, if you don't mind, could you tell me how this all came to be?"

Astra nodded. "Sure. One year ago, I began to have random bruising and bleeding and my parents had no idea why. They scheduled an appointment with the doctor in Merriden, and he was very worried, because he knew they could be symptoms for something far worse than irregular bruising and bleeding. He ordered for a bone marrow to be done and it proved that I did in fact have leukemia. But by then, it was really late, and as I said, the treatment I got for a bit didn't work and ended up hurting me even more." She paused. "Now, I don't have much more time to live."

Zane's eyes collected more tears. "I think I have a plan. But, it is very unreliable…it may not work."

Astra got up from her bed. "It's okay. I just want to do something before my time comes." She forced a smile onto her face, but she thought for a moment and the smile was gone. "But please, don't tell anyone about this! It might complicate things."

Zane hesitated. If anything ever happened to Astra due to her disease and his brothers and sisters questioned him, what would he say? Still, he wanted to make Astra happy, so he agreed. "I will try not to tell anyone about this."

* * *

Jay was laying down on his bed in the ninjas' room, thinking. Cole was right that night when he said that Jay hadn't kissed Nya, and only Nya had. To a lot of people, when both people of the couple kiss is when it is "official". Of course, that didn't matter to Jay because people could say whatever they wanted to, but he was beginning to feel like he should try at it again.

Then Jay shot up and got an idea. He would ask Nya out again! He ran out of the room and went to the one place he'd expect Nya to be: the bridge. She was there, and fortunately, she was alone. She was working on the button, which is to say, the button that starts the rocket boosters, because it got a bit damaged and because of that they had to land right outside of Ninjago City.

"Hey, Nya," Jay greeter her as he entered the bridge.

She looked up from the repairs she was making and smiled at the blue ninja. "Oh, hi Jay. What's up? Want to help me fix this button?"

Jay looked from side-to-side before giving his answer. "Uh, sure. I mean, I did build it, so naturally I should help fix it."

He got down beside her and examined what had happened while Nya gave the quick rundown of what had happened. "Basically, some wires broke and now we have to replace them." she concluded. "I already brought the wires we need, but I just need some help replacing them."

Jay nodded. "Okey dokey. No problem."

They spent the next few minutes replacing the wires (with rubber gloves, of course) until Jay decided to ask the question that was on his mind. "Hey, Nya, I was just wondering that…ever since that first date we had at Mega Monster Amusement Park, we haven't had another one. Also, that one was ruined, with me becoming a snake and you getting captured and trapped on the roller coaster. But now, I was just wondering, want to do that again?"

Nya looked at him strangely, wondering if he meant the "do that again" part as in have a date there again, or become a snake and get trapped on a roller coaster, but she was sure the lightning ninja had meant the former. "You mean…go on a date there?" she asked just to clarify, and when the lightning ninja nodded, she added, "I'd love to!"

Jay smiled at her. "Great. Then, same time, same place, and this time," he paused for dramatic effect. "No snakes!"

Nya giggled lightly. "Sure. Tonight or tomorrow night?"

"How about today?"

"Sounds good. We'll just have to let Sensei know."

It was 6 o'clock, and Jay was getting ready for his second date with Nya, after the first one went horribly wrong. He decided to wear the same clothing as he did the first time around. He wore the black suit, white shirt, and a blue bowtie, along with the red scarf. He was sure to not put on perfume like the last time, because Nya was allergic to it.

After he was ready, he went out on to the deck to wait for her. Surprisingly, the blue ninja found his Sensei sitting there, meditating and his back facing him.

"Good evening, Jay. What brings you here?" he asked, still having his back turned against him.

Jay was dumbfounded. How did he know it was him and not anyone else? "Um, I'm good. Sensei, I wanted to tell you something. Nya and I are going to mega Monster Amusement Park for a dinner there, after our last one was ruined. Is that okay with you?"

Wu nodded. "Yes, yes, that is fine. Just make sure to be back before 10 o'clock! You must sleep early today. I hope our rocket boosters will be fixed in time to search for the kunoichi of wind tomorrow."

Jay nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah, sure, we'll be back in time!"

There was silence for a few seconds until Jay and Sensei Wu heard other footsteps. Jay turned around to find Nya, wearing the same clothes as she was last time as well.

"Nya! You're wearing the same clothes as last time?" Jay exclaimed.

"Yeah, and I can tell you are too."

"Yeah, well, you see, I wanted it to be the same after the last one got ruined, so I decided to wear this suit and scarf again."

"I had the same thought too!"

"Really?"

"I guess the saying is right: great minds think alike!" The couple started laughing, and though they didn't see it, even Wu smiled, although his peace was disturbed by their conversation.

"If you don't mind, I would like some peace and quiet to meditate." Wu told them calmly. The two instantly stopped laughing.

"Uh, yes Sensei." Jay said quickly. "Sorry about that. We'll be on our way." Wu nodded.

The Bounty's plank was out so all they had to do was walk right across it. "So, how are we going to get there?" Nya asked.

Jay did a facepalm. "I forgot about transportation. Oh well. Guess we'll have to walk there." And so they walked for nearly an hour until they finally reached Mega Monster Amusement Park. "Ugh, I'm so tired already!" Jay groaned, which was very unfashionable of him because he was a ninja.

Even Nya was tired. "Let's just get to the restaurant so we can eat our meal." Jay didn't disagree with that. He was tired. But little did they know that they were being followed by four people…

Jay and Nya reached the restaurant and ordered their meal. They were still waiting for it to come to them when they noticed everybody was looking towards the restaurant entrance. The couple looked back at the entrance as well and saw a man dressed in dark blue with two people at his side and one behind him all dressed in black.

"EVERYBODY FREEZE!" the man in dark blue shouted. "Now, ninja of lightning and kunoichi of water, we know you're here. Show yourselves and come with us, and nothing will happen."

Jay and Nya looked at each other, a bit scared at who these strangers were and how they knew they were there. They both silently agreed on one thing.

"I don't think so!" Jay yelled as he jumped out of his booth and used Spinjitzu to go into his ninja gi. Nya, on the other hand, who didn't know Spinjitzu yet, had to stay in the clothes she was wearing. She also jumped out of their booth and beside Jay, ready to fight if they had to.

The man in dark blue smirked. "GET THEM!" he commanded what were probably his henchmen.

Jay quickly tried shooting a bolt of lightning at the leader, but he ducked it and it hit the person behind him who was unfortunate enough to catch the order on time. The other two ran at them, and Nya managed to subdue one with a well-timed kick. The leader shot a blast of some purple liquid-y thing at Nya's shoulder, and she cried out in pain, clutched her shoulder, and crumpled to the floor unconscious.

"Nya!" Jay screamed. His anger was rising. "NINJA GO!" he shouted, and just when he was about to launch into his light blue tornado, his arms were caught by two of the henchmen. The third one, that had gotten hit by Jay's lightning, went in front of the captured the blue ninja and punched him in the stomach, followed by the face. The other two men let go of Jay as he fell to the floor. The last thing he saw was the leader standing over him with a grin, and purple lightning-like stuff flashing in his hands. He tried saying something, but it was muffled and Jay guessed his mouth had been tied. Then he became unconscious too.

* * *

 **...wow. First I tell you Astra is going to die, and now I tell you Jay and Nya are unconscious and captured by who knows who. I should just change this to T. Actually, I will.**

 **Hope you liked it!**


	14. Abduction

**Sorry but this chapter it pretty much a filler. Nothing much happens outside of using their dragons at last and some comedy I guess. I should've added something more at the end but oh well that'll be added into the next chapter.**

 **Also I didn't really like my last chapter much either lol. Seemed to human-like and I try keeping things as LEGOistic (haha) as possible but as I said it seemed to much like they were humans but whatever, I can't change that without changing around the story.**

 **Anyways enjoy! I personally found this a bit funny towards the end :)**

* * *

Chapter 14: Abduction

It was early morning, and Sensei Wu had woken up. He had told his students last night to meet him on the deck for sunrise exercise. Astra hadn't known what sunrise exercise is, so he had to explain it to her.

He went outside onto the deck and began drinking his tea. Soon enough, his students were on the deck, all looking a bit tired. Wu was done by then and opened his eyes. _One, two, three, four, five, six…where are Jay and Nya?_ Wu cleared his throat. "Have any of you seen Jay or Nya?"

Zane thought for a moment. "Now that you mention it, Jay did not wake up with us."

Lloyd elbowed him lightly. "No, Zane, he wasn't even in his bed! I checked!"

"Yeah, and Nya wasn't in her bed either…" Reyna informed her Sensei.

Wu had a second of panic. If they had not returned, where could they be?

"Sensei, do you know where they are?" Kai eyed him suspiciously.

Wu shook his head. "Yesterday night, Jay took Nya out for a dinner at Mega Monster Amusement Park, after their first one was ruined by the Serpentine. If they have not arrived since then, that is terrible news."

The red ninja got angry. "Ugh, Jay! Just wait till I get my hands on him! What does he think he can do?"

Cole had to step in. "Kai, relax. You know Jay would never do anything to hurt Nya."

"Then I fear something may have happened to them while they were there." Sensei Wu bowed his head.

Kai's anger cooled down. "Then we have to find them!"

"But what about the kunoichi of wind?" Reyna protested.

"I think finding Jay and Nya first is more important," Sensei Wu answered.

"I think we should go to Mega Monster Amusement Park," Cole told everyone his ideas. "It obviously makes the most sense because we can check the security cameras in there and find out what happened." Nobody disagreed; Cole was right.

"Zane, I think you'll have to be tech genius without Nya and Jay around," the fire ninja told the nindroid.

The white ninja nodded. "I will personally steer us towards Mega Monster Amusement Park."

"Uh, there's a problem, I think," Lloyd suddenly said. It seemed he couldn't help but make everyone's moods worse than they already were.

"And what is that, Lloyd?" his uncle asked.

"The Bounty can't fly. The rocket boosters are a bit…broken, I think."

Zane thought for a moment, then gritted his teeth. "Lloyd is right. I saw Nya working on it yesterday, but I do not think she finished, especially with her dinner with Jay."

"Could you check?" Cole asked the nindroid.

Zane nodded. He went inside into the bridge to go check if it was fixed. A minute later, he came back. "Lloyd is correct. The boosters still need to be repaired."

The nature kunoichi groaned. "Now are we going to get there?"

Everyone thought for a moment, until an idea sparked in the fire ninja's head. "That's it! We can use our elemental dragons!"

The light kunoichi looked horrified. "You…you guys have dragons?!"

The ice ninja nodded. "Don't worry. They will not hurt you unless we tell them too, which we won't."

Astra nodded, although she still looked nervous.

"Yes, I think using your dragons would be the best way to get there, with the Bounty still needing to be repaired," Sensei Wu approved of their decision.

"Um, what about sunrise exercise?" Astra asked her Sensei.

Wu chuckled lightly. "I had completely forgotten about that. However, we have more important things to worry about. No sunrise exercise today."

Astra sighed lightly so that Wu couldn't hear it. Based on her first and only experience with sunrise exercise, it didn't exactly sound appealing to her.

"Let's use our dragons, boys!" the earth ninja shouted. He concentrated, and in a moment the brown elemental dragon of earth appeared in front of him. He hopped onto it. Reyna was amazed. "Wow. Are we going to be able to do that too?" she asked her teacher.

He nodded. "In time."

Cole held out a hand to Reyna. "Want a lift?"

She smiled and gladly took it as Cole helped her onto his dragon. She had to admit, she was a bit nervous of what a ride on a dragon would feel like.

Kai did the same, summoning his elemental fire dragon that looked about as red as his gi.

Lloyd followed by summoning his green elemental dragon of energy, followed by Zane who summoned his blue elemental dragon of ice. Zane, like Cole had done to Reyna, held out a hand for a nervous Astra to get on the dragon. She hesitantly took his hand, after some convincing from Zane and the others. Soon enough, they were soaring through the sky on the backs of dragons.

Admittedly, Astra had fun riding on the dragon along with Zane, although she was also terrified of what could happen if she fell off. "Doesn't this feel great?" Zane asked her without turning around. Astra nodded, which the nindroid couldn't see. She loved the feel of the wind rushing in her face. It was like plane-surfing, if that was ever possible, but not as fast.

In some minutes, they had reached Mega Monster Amusement Park. "Now," Cole told Reyna, "I'm going to…what would would you call it, I guess, bring the dragon back inside of me, so I'll put us near the ground so when we fall we're not falling much." Reyna nodded. She wasn't afraid of heights, so it didn't really bother her. What did bother her was if they were higher up and Cole did the bringing back thing, then it could injure her feet, but luckily Cole wasn't doing that. Cole took the dragon near the ground outside of the amusement park, and closed his eyes, which the nature kunoichi couldn't see because she was sitting behind him. In a moment, the dragon suddenly disappeared, and Reyna wasn't prepared for that. She screamed, although she still landed on her feet. "Sorry," Cole said sheepishly. "I should've warned you I was going to do that."

Zane told Astra the same thing, but gave her a warning, first so Astra was sure she didn't scream like Reyna had. Kai and Lloyd also brought back their dragons.

"Alright, Mr. Leader, where to first?" Kai asked Cole with a smirk.

The black ninja rolled his eyes. "Really? I thought you'd be smarter than that, Kai. The security camera room, duh!"

"The place they watch everything from, right?" Reyna asked, to which Cole nodded.

After some scouring and asking people at the amusement park where they could find that place, they got their answer. It was located all the way at the back of the park.

When they got to the small building where the security people watched everything through the security cameras, they found a man blocking their way in, looking only a few years older than the ninja and kunoichi at best.

"What do you people think you're doing here?" he demanded.

"We're the ninja," Cole answered, "and our friends were at the restaurant at this amusement park yesterday, but they never came back, so we want to see what happened."

The man looked at them and laughed. "You're the ninja? Nice try." His laughing stopped and turned into a dreamy smile. "And who might these two lovely ladies be?"

Cole looked down at his clothes and realized he was still wearing his pajamas. Then he looked at Reyna and Astra, then back at the guard and scrunched up his face. "NINJA GO!" he shouted and he was changed into his ninja gi. Kai, Zane, and Lloyd followed as well, as they also forgot they were still in their pajamas. Cole leaned in to the guard and whispered dangerously so that the others couldn't hear. "Do you believe we're the ninja now? And for your information, they are two of the five kunoichi we need to find for a new prophecy, and they're both taken."

The guard gulped nervously. "Um, yes, okay. I'll allow you to go inside. All of you, I mean." The guard stepped aside and let the ninja and kunoichi enter the building. Guess what they saw inside? Two older men than the one outside, sitting on chairs, eating donuts, and playing chess.

"Checkmate," one of the guards said casually.

The other guard stood up in a flash. "Wha-…how-…th-…" It seemed like to the ninja and kunoichi that he forgot how to speak. "YOU ALWAYS WIN!" he finally shouted.

Cole cleared his throat. "Sorry to interrupt your daily routine, gentlemen, but we have some things we'd like to see."

The security guards, having no clue how the ninja and kunoichi got in, looked over and froze in fear.

"It's the ninja!" the guard who lost in the game of chess exclaimed in fear. "How did you get in?"

"We walked through the door," Zane replied.

Kai, Lloyd, and the kunoichi all did a facepalm, while Cole just shook his head, but quickly got back to what they had to do there. "Two of our teammates were here at Mega Monster Amusement Park's restaurant for a dinner last night and they haven't returned back to our flying ship. We'd like to see what happened in the restaurant at that time."

"Last night," the guard who won repeated. "Wasn't my shift, nor Harold's." He motioned to the guard he beat in the game of chess, whose name is Harold.

The fire ninja was losing his patience. "We don't care whose shift it was last night. We want to see footage of what happened last night at the restaurant."

"You mean the diner?" Harold asked. "Because that's the only 'fancy' restaurant here that would be suited for a date-type of thing."

The fire ninja nodded. "Yeah, that."

The other guard turned his chair around and faced the computer screen that had the restaurant in view. He rewinded it to yesterday at around 5 o'clock PM. "What time was this?"

"Perhaps you should forward it to about 6 o'clock. I think that might be the time." Zane told them. The guard did as he said.

"I don't see Jay or Nya anywhere here," Lloyd said quietly, and Kai nodded.

"Maybe 20 minutes forward?" Astra guessed. The guard forwarded it 20 minutes.

"Nope, still no Jay or Nya," Cole confirmed.

They watched it for another minute or two, but still didn't see their teammates there. "Another 10 minutes should be the right time, I believe," Zane told the guard. He forwarded it another 10 minutes, and they watched it from that time on for another few minutes.

The time in the video showed 6:37. "There they are!" Reyna suddenly exclaimed. "I think…"

Sure enough, they saw faces that looked like the blue ninja and cyan kunoichi. "Yeah, that's them." Kai confirmed. "Let's keep watching this." They watched how Jay and Nya sat down in a booth, ordered their food, and then turned around to look at the main door. They heard some shouting, but couldn't make out the words, when Jay and Nya looked at each other and jumped out of their booth. They saw as Jay shot some lightning at someone they couldn't see on that screen.

"Harold, get the screen with the view of the front of this diner at 6:41 PM yesterday." the security guard ordered. Harold did as he was told, and they could all see that there were four (assumed) men at the entrance of the diner, but they couldn't see their faces. The one they thought to be the leader was wearing dark blue, and the other three were wearing black. They also saw how the lightning Jay blasted at the dark blue man had hit the person behind him. Then the leader yelled something, probably to go attack, and back on the other screen they saw Jay and Nya fighting when something purple hit Nya's shoulder and she fell. Jay screamed and yelled "NINJA GO!" which they heard clearly but his hands were held and he was captured. He was punched twice, let go, and then finally fell on the ground. Then the leader walked over, bent down, and they couldn't see the rest so they looked back at the screen with the view of the entrance where they saw the man shock Jay with purple electricity or something similar to that. Jay's eyes flew open, and closed just as quickly as they opened. The leader barked an order, and the other three people hauled Jay and Nya up and exited the restaurant.

The ninja, kunoichi, and guards all looked at each other with the same or similar question(s): what would these people want with Jay and Nya?

* * *

 **Yeah they got kidnapped. You'll get some Jay POV next chapter along with the ninja and kunoichi trying to get some leads and find them. I really don't know how they'll escape, whether ninja will find them, they'll get themselves out, or the villain himself (well, one of the villains, he's not the main one, but working for him) will somehow get what he wants and then releases them. Whatever it may be, stay tuned to find out!**


	15. Torture

**Darkrainbow: if you're still reading this, don't worry, Jaylor is coming soon! I haven't forgotten about him and he'll play a [fairly] big role in this story.**

 **I like this chapter, and as you can probably tell from the title, it has torture. Don't worry, it's only emotional torture, nothing more.**

 **Also thanks everyone for the favourites and followers, it means a lot! I'm getting more and more by the chapter! :D**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 15: Torture

As soon as Jay Walker woke up, he realized he wasn't on the Bounty. No, this place was too dark to be it. He tried getting up, but he could only go half-way to sitting position because his arms were chained and so were his legs. His chest and stomach hurt, and he remembered what had happened. _That's right,_ he thought. _The dinner with Nya. Those four guys attacking us. The purple bolts of energy in his hand._ It pained the lightning ninja just to think of those bolts of energy. He was guessing his chest and stomach were hurting so much because of that energy. His back was also stiff due to a slab of rock right under his back, leaving his head and legs lower than his body and also in an awkward position. Reflecting back on that experience of falling after being hit twice and then his eyes flying open again after the energy coursed through him, he thought the restaurant had gotten darker and gloomier than it had been. Of course, it could be him just about to go into unconsciousness as well.

"Where am I?" he said aloud.

"You're in our secret base," a raspy voice answered. In the darkness, Jay had no idea where that person was, but his eyes began adjusting and saw that he was locked in a room, almost a prison cell. _That voice. It's that guy again, the guy in dark blue._

"What do you want from me?" Jay asked, trying to sound confident.

The man laughed. "Don't try to act confident, boy, we both know you're scared. As to answer your question, I'm here to ask you of a favour."

"A favour? Why would I do a favour for you, after what you did?" Jay snarled at him. "And what did you do with Nya?"

"Oh, don't worry, your girlfriend is fine. She's sitting in a different cell…but she was stubborn, so she is punished a bit."

Jay was angry. "What are you doing to her? Tell me, or else…" Jay's voice trailed off after he realized he was in no position to make a threat.

"Or else what?" he challenged. "You'll yell? Scream? Try to shoot lightning at me? Your platoon of kids that you call your friends have no idea where you are, and they won't for a while. And, all I'm doing is making her listen to a horrible song with earphones in her ears…oh, and it's also loud. If I were you, I'd listen to what I have to say. It might just get you and that kunoichi of water out of here."

Jay sighed that Nya wasn't getting any sort of bad punishment, and he was all ears. "What do you want?" he asked suspiciously to not sound happy.

"Oh, you'll just have to run some errands and do what I say."

Jay shook his head quickly. What was he thinking? Why would he ever do what this guy says? "No. I won't do anything for you."

He looked in close at Jay through the bars of the cell, and Jay was beginning to see his face a bit, but not much. "Why would you be stubborn like Nya? Do you want torture too? I have the perfect torture to break you."

"Try me!" Jay snarled. He would take anything to prove this guy wrong.

Jay was seeing a smile on his face. "Well, I hope you like babies, because one crying is all you're going to be hearing for the next four hours!" He walked away laughing, leaving Jay very nervous.

A few minutes later, two people opened the cell up and brought in what seemed to be a speaker. They connected a device to it – possible a phone? – and turned on the baby sounds. It was quiet right now.

"Master, what's the volume going to be right now?" one of the people asked the man from earlier.

"50% for now. 65% the next hour, followed by 75 and then 100% for the final hour. He should be done after that. If he's not, keep going with 100% for another two hours after that." He turned to look at Jay. "Even if you scream for it to stop and say that you will do what I say, it will not be turned off until the four hours are done."

Jay gulped and looked horrified. He doubted he'd be able to take such a torture for even two hours, let alone four. The baby crying began, and all three men left him alone to listen to a baby's cries. After 10 minutes, Jay was already annoyed. It was the same thing repeated over and over. After 30 minutes, he began sweating. He tried thinking of something else, but it never seemed to work. He was interrupted by the crying everytime.

At the one hour mark, a man came in and turned up the volume to 65% as his master had told ordered. By now, Jay was cringing everytime he heard the baby's cry repeat, and his eyes bulged out like a heartbeat. _Another three hours, and he won't even turn it off no matter how much I yell! This is real torture._ Another hour later, the volume was cranked up to 75%. At this point, Jay broke and started screaming for it to stop. It was unbearable, and he moved and shook so much, he thought the chains would break, but they never did.

In the final hour, the crying was so loud Jay felt like he was going to go insane. He was so annoyed he couldn't even scream anymore, but now he felt different emotions: anger and desperation. He was angry at the man whose name he still did not know that ordered this, and himself for not agreeing to do whatever he was going to be asked to do. Obviously the blue ninja had no idea that man would do something like this, but he should've known better than to disagree with a person who kidnaps him.

Jay felt like his ears were going to shatter. He looked like he hadn't slept in a week. During what Jay thought could be the last 20 minutes of the torture, he squirmed around so much, he thought he heard a crack. Or maybe it was just his eardrum. His wrists began to hurt a lot from all his struggling and the chains holding him back from freely moving his arms. The crying was definitely making him go insane, and the lightning ninja began to feel like he was going to start to cry. He felt so helpless, and he hated himself for that.

At last, the torture was over. A man came in and unplugged the device and walked away without even saying a word to Jay. A few minutes later, the man from before came, this time with a flashlight so Jay could actually see his face. It was grey, and it reminded the blue ninja of what he thought a zombie would look like. On his face were regular eyes, but they looked to be very dark, basically black to Jay.

The man came and sat down in front of him and grinned. "Did you enjoy those four hours? It's almost noon now."

Jay could still hear the baby's crying in his ears, and that question went in through one ear and through the other without taking a pit-stop at his brain.

The man noticed this, and raised an eyebrow. "Well, now I will introduce myself. Jay Walker, my name is Palmer, and I am one of the Five."

* * *

After they saw what they needed to at the security camera room, the ninja and kunoichi headed straight back to the Bounty to tell Sensei Wu what they saw.

Sensei Wu was still on the deck, but he was meditating. He opened his eyes when he saw that his students had come back, but not with Jay and Nya. "So, did you find out what happened?"

Cole nodded. "They were kidnapped at the restaurant."

Wu stoked his beard. "How did this happen?"

"Well, Sensei, Jay and Nya ordered their meal," Zane began. "Then four men entered the restaurant, and we did not hear what they said, but it was likely something bad so Jay and Nya started to fight them."

"But the weird thing is Jay and Nya were taken out so easily," Kai continued off of what Zane hadn't told their Sensei.

"And there's one more thing you might want to know, Sensei," Reyna said, and everyone turned to look at her. "Their leader, who was wearing dark blue, shot some purple liquid at Nya, probably water, and she fell into unconsciousness. Then later, when Jay was knocked down, he bent over and shocked him with, like, purple lightning or something."

"It was a dark purple," Lloyd clarified just in case.

After hearing this, Sensei Wu looked like he was struck with panic and fear. "No...it cannot be…that is terrible news…"

The ninja and kunoichi looked at each other. "Um, uncle, do you mind explaining to us?" the green ninja asked.

His uncle nodded his head. "I will tell you all you need to know…for now. That man is dangerous, and if he has Jay and Nya, then it will be very difficult to get them back by yourselves. Fortunately, he is…relatively nice, to say the least. He will likely order Jay and Nya to do something, and then release them."

"That guy's going to use them for his own dirty work?!" the red ninja exploded. "We have to go find them!"

"Kai, listen!" his Sensei ordered. "Nobody knows there they could be, so it is fruitless to even try. I have a feeling I know exactly where Jay and Nya might go for their first errand." Then, to himself, although not quiet enough for his students to not hear, he mumbled, "although by himself he can take out any two-three of us. Together, they can take over Ninjago…"

His students heard him say that, and were alarmed at how powerful this guy could be. They also wondered who "they" was, and if there were more like him.

"Is there something you're hiding from us?" the black ninja asked, although he was certain his teacher was hiding a lot.

Wu hesitated. He didn't want to tell his students yet, at least not until Jay, Nya, and the kunoichi of wind and life were found. "Yes, I am hiding something, but I prefer not to tell you until we have all of our teammates present. That includes the kunoichi of wind and life, as well as Jay and Nya."

"So where are we headed?" Astra asked her Sensei.

Wu thought for a bit on this question. Where would he try to send Jay and Nya first? Certainly not out in the middle of the Endless Ocean. Not on top of the Wailing Alps. That leaves him either to the Frozen Wasteland or the Sea of Sand. Of those, the Sea of Sand seemed more likely, but then again, he is clever. Wu had to take the chance. "We'll be heading to the very center of the Sea of Sand. Zane, please steer us there."

Zane bowed. "Yes, Sensei." Zane left to go steer the Bounty, while the rest of them had a confused look as to how their teacher was so sure. Still, they did not question him, for Sensei Wu was a wise man.

A question still bugged Wu. The Five were locked away many years ago in prisons that are impossible to escape. If one of them was free, then who freed him?

* * *

 **So Nya had to listen to a horrible song with earphones in her ears for four hours, while Jay had to listen to a baby crying with increasing volumes by the hour for four hours. Sounds pretty harsh lol, although it could definitely have been worse. That's what I meant by when Wu says "relatively nice". Palmer is definitely nicer than the other Four of the Five. You'll also find out who those are soon enough after the ninja are done through this wild goose chase and find the kunoichi of wind and life, but, admittedly, that is still a bit far and school is also starting for me next week :( So less time to write I guess, but obviously I'll try!**

 **Hope you liked it!**


	16. Breakout

***Sigh* I was one day behind again lol. Oh well. Anyways you won't be meeting the kunoichi of nature for a bit still. This way was the best way I could introduce the villains (most of them anyway, not all though).**

 **Hope you like it!**

* * *

Chapter 16: Breakout

"Well, now I will introduce myself. Jay Walker, my name is Palmer, and I am one of the Five." the man said.

"Who are the Five?" Jay asked.

Palmer thought for a moment. "Well, I rather not tell you. I'm sure your Sensei Wu knows about us, and I'm sure he'll tell you about us. That is…after you are reunited with him." Palmer grinned evilly.

"And when am I going to see them again?"

"Simple. After you complete the tasks I give you and Nya to do."

"And those tasks are?" Jay wished Palmer would just hurry up and get to the point.

"You have to free the other Four. Of course, I will give you sufficient men to do so because you two on your own will not be enough."

"Enough to what?"

"Enough to take out the guards that guard them."

Jay raised an eyebrow. "Are they that dangerous?"

Palmer laughed a booming laugh. "You saw how I took out your girlfriend in the blink of an eye. The other Four are just as powerful as me. Well, except for one. He's more powerful than all of us."

He didn't know why, but Jay actually felt like he could be friends with this guy…if it weren't for the fact that this Palmer guy had taken him prisoner to do his dirty work. That, and the torture. His ears were still ringing. "Why'd you make me go through that awful torture?" the blue ninja asked.

Palmer frowned. "You should be happy it was me and not another one of us, boy. Else you'd be whipped senseless if you were a prisoner to any of the other Four."

Jay didn't know if he could trust that claim, but he didn't care now. "Now can you just tell me what I have to do? In detail, please."

Palmer grinned happily. "That's more like it. Looks like that baby got to you." He shifted the way he was sitting. "First, you're going the Frozen Wasteland. Do you remember where that Ice Dragon was?" When Jay nodded, he continued: "well, if you go to the other side of that place, there will be another cave like the one the Ice Dragon was in. Enter that cave, and he'll be in there, surrounded by guards. Of course, you'll have to take out the guards to get him out, because they won't willingly let anyone do that."

Jay did a small sigh of relief. At least it wasn't anything really hard, such as bringing his own friends here. Still, it was going to be hard, because as a ninja, nothing is easy. "When do we go?"

Palmer checked a nonexistent watch. "2 hours, and you leave. Don't try to run away, because you won't be able to."

"Is Nya coming with me?" the blue ninja asked.

Palmer nodded. "She told me if you agree, she'd agree, so she is coming with you."

Jay did another sigh of relief. If he sees Nya next to him, he knows she'll be safe. He had no idea what she was doing right now.

2 hours later, Jay was freed from his cell and he was to meet where they were going to meet up for the jail breaking mission.

The first person he saw was Nya. "Nya!" he cried in happiness. He ran to her and hugged her, while she hugged him back. "I missed you so much. Are you alright?"

She gave a smile. "Yeah, I'm fine. My ears are ringing from that horrible song they forced me to listen to, but otherwise, I'm fine. You?"

Jay shrugged. "Same as you. My ears are ringing. They made me listen to a baby crying for four straight hours. It was painful." Jay looked around. "Palmer's not here yet?"

The kunoichi of water shook her head. "Haven't seen him since he came to my cell to ask for my answer. I told him I'd only go if you would."

The ninja of lightning nodded. "Yeah, he told me that. I agreed." Jay did a quick headcount of all the men there that were to held them break this other guy out. He counted 12. A few minutes later, Palmer arrived.

"Good afternoon, Jay and Nya," he gave a wicked smile. "All of you already know what to do. And to you two," he looked at the ninja and kunoichi, still with that smile, "if you try escaping, my men will make sure you don't. If they report back to me that you even tried, then," he paused for some dramatic effect, "more torture!" he said gleefully.

Jay shook his head miserably. "Let's just get going so we can get this over with and go back home."

"Wait!" Nya said abruptly. "How are we getting there?"

"I'm glad you asked," Palmer said a bit too loudly. "You're going there in jeeps that can hold 4 people each. Good luck and don't die!" He walked away to do whatever he does. "Oh, and make sure our prisoners sit in different jeeps so they can't make plans!" his voice was heard even though he couldn't be seen.

Both Jay and Nya groaned at this.

Everyone loaded into the jeeps and they were on their way. "How long until we reach the Frozen Wasteland?" Jay asked one of the men he was sitting with, but he didn't give a reply. "Hello?" Jay waved his hand in front of him, and then he turned around to look at Jay. The blue ninja could see that he also had grey skin. The man lightly slapped Jay with the back of his cold hand, and the lightning ninja took that as a way to shut up.

Similarly, in another jeep, Nya was also having difficulty getting them to talk. "Where are we? Where is this place? Why do you guys live out in the middle of nowhere?" It was true. They were driving through a desert, but the sky looked to be very dark, so it definitely wasn't the Sea of Sand. In fact, there wasn't even any sand, so she could hardly call it a desert. A dried body of water suited the area better, considering there were cracks in the ground that looked similar to how a dried lake/ocean would look.

Nobody answered her, but the man she was sitting next to simply put a finger to his mouth, and he was probably telling her to do the same. The cyan kunoichi saw that he looked very pale and lifeless, as if he only lives to serve. He didn't even look alive, actually. Never had she heard any of them talk, or even give a hint of emotion at anytime.

Clearly, since she wasn't going to get anything out of them, she did as he said and stayed quiet the rest of the way.

A few hours later, they reached the Frozen Wasteland. It was cold, but the men didn't seem to feel it, or if they did, they showed no sign of it. Jay and Nya didn't know they were going to be kidnapped and then forced to go to the Frozen Mountain, so they hadn't brought anything extra. Jay used his Spinjitzu to change into his ninja gi, but Nya, who didn't know how to do it, had to stay in that clothing. The most Jay could do was give her the coat to his suit before he changed into his ninja gi to keep her as warm as he could.

They walked to the back of the Ice Fortress, and like Palmer had said, there was an opening. Jay got as close to Nya as he could, and likewise, she did the same. The men Palmer had sent with them wasted no time making a plan. Without a word, they entered and started fighting the guards with some fighting technique neither the ninja nor kunoichi had seen. The guards seemed to be big robots shooting lasers, similar to the one Zane had fought in Birchwood Forest when he found out he was a robot. There seemed to be six of them, which probably wasn't enough. Jay and Nya charged in as well, and Nya used the little water she could find to hit them with it, but it wasn't much since she still had a lot to learn about controlling water.

Jay wasted no time in electrocuting the robots. One robot targeted him with its laser, but a man Palmer sent kicked it before it could shoot and it lost its aim. Another robot which Jay was unaware about sent a laser beam his way. Jay had just enough time to dodge it as he jumped over and used his Spinjitzu to charge right into it. He left Palmer's men to take it down for good.

Their fight with the guards was over in less than five minutes. Jay wondered why anyone would have to be locked up way out here, and who ordered this in the first place.

They advanced forward when they were attacked by more robots, this time there were eight of them. Nya decided to join in on the fighting too, and the robots were down in another five minutes.

They finally reached the prison cell that held the person they were supposed to break out.

"Finally!" a deep voice boomed. They looked in and could see another grey-skinned dude, but this guy had red hair. His eyes looked around furtively, and he had the weirdest smile on his face, one that made him look insane. "Get me out of here already, you idiots!" He tried shaking the cage as if he were a monster, but his arms and legs were chained so it was no use.

"Uh…how do we get him out?" Nya asked. The bars were frozen, and if Jay used his lightning, it would electrocute the guy in there too. Now that he thought about it, electrocuting him didn't seem like a bad idea.

Without answering, a henchmen brought out two axes out of nowhere and handed each to Jay and Nya. They realized there were supposed to literally break him out. They hammered the bars and the ice didn't seem to shatter at first. It had been frozen for so many years, it was too solid. Many minutes later, they broke the cell, and then cut his chains. He got out stretched for a while.

"Thank you, blue boy and girl who wears a suit coat," he said after he was done stretching. "My name is Jaylor, and I am the Master of Black Earth and Black Nature." He gave an evil grin. Jay and Nya got the chills, and it felt like the temperature had dropped another 10 degrees after he said that.

* * *

The ninja were waiting for the arrival of whoever Sensei Wu was expecting to come. They had reached the Mountain of a Million Steps a few hours ago, after flying as fast as they could. When they asked their Sensei why Jay and Nya had not arrived, he said that they would soon come.

But soon had come and went long ago. They'd been waiting for hours with no sign of anything. Astra and Reyna were trying to do the training course with the help of Zane and Cole, while Kai and Lloyd were on the lookout. Sensei Wu was meditating to see if he could "find" them in his thoughts to figure out where they were, but it was no use. He said they were blocked off from his mind by too much dark energy.

"I fear our enemy was one step ahead of us," Sensei Wu suddenly said and everybody turned around to pay attention to him. "He knew we would go the more expected place, so he went to a different place, possibly the Frozen Wasteland. We were outsmarted." He bowed his head in shame.

"But whoever this guy is," Lloyd began. "Doesn't he have to come here some time or the other to get what he wants? Why can't we just wait here? We have the Bounty."

Wu thought about his nephew's proposal. "Then we will do just that. The One that is free has to come here to free another one of his old friends. We will just have to wait."

* * *

 **Darkrainbow, I don't know if you were expecting Jaylor to be a villain, but he is. His personality seemed to scream villain to me for this story, because he suits it really well. Cruel? Yup. Rude? Yup. That intelligence may come in handy for him at some point, not sure.**

 **Anyways if you want to know where I'm getting this dark element stuff, search "elemental abilities" and click the Powerlisting wiki link. Would link it to make it easier but I don't Fanfiction allows website links.**

 **Hope you liked it!**


	17. Struggle for Success

**Sorry for another delay! Didn't have much time to write yesterday, and today, school started so had to do that stuff. Speaking of school, because of that, it may slow down my chapters to perhaps even as little as once a week. I hope not.**

 **Also PLEASE read the author's note at the bottom, and it'd be very appreciated if you could do what I asked there, thanks!**

 **Anyways enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 17: Struggle for Success

Kai was feeling like he was despairing. Whoever had captured his sister and Jay had outsmarted Sensei Wu. He/she/they probably knew they would go to the most obvious of the locations, whatever this pile of rocks held that was so special.

Just to get away from everyone else, he climbed up to the top of the Mountain of a Million Steps. He wanted to be alone. If the others worry about him, so be it. At least he knew he was safe.

Nya, on the other hand…not so much. Kai wanted her back, and he didn't even think she knew if she was safe. Who knows what she could be going through right now. He became a ninja so that he could rescue her the first time when the Skulkin took her. That time, she was used as a bait; now, she's being used to do whatever he capturer wants her to do. If what Sensei said was right, and that their capturer is "relatively nice", to use his own words, then he would make them free the other Four, whoever they are. Hopefully, this guy will send them back to them after that; but that's only a worst-comes-to worst plan. They plan on stopping them here, at the Mountain of a Million Steps, instead of waiting around. He much rather take Nya and Jay from them instead of waiting around for them to come to him.

* * *

Down below, Cole was looking for a certain someone and come out onto the deck. "Has anyone seen Kai?" he asked. On the deck were Lloyd, Reyna, and Astra, and Lloyd was helping them master the training course.

"I think he's up there." Lloyd pointed up on top of the Mountain and they all saw a silhouette of a person sitting up there in the evening sun.

"What's he doing up there?"

Lloyd shrugged. "I don't think it would be wise to disturb him, though. He seems pretty content on just sitting up there, alone, and I guess, thinking."

Cole shrugged back. "Oh well. Let him do what he wants. I'm sure he's angry that Nya's not around, being the protective brother he is. I'm heading back inside." He turned around to walk back.

"Me too," Reyna suddenly said. She jumped off the training course and followed Cole inside. "I need to talk to you."

Cole was headed to the living room to sit. Since Reyna wanted to talk to him, he figured why not sit down and talk? They got to the room and sat down. "So, what do you want to say?" he asked.

"Well, I just wanted to say…thanks." She shied away.

Cole looked confused. "For what?"

She seemed surprised that the black ninja didn't know what she was talking about. "You convinced me to become a kunoichi, else I wouldn't have. Well, Nya was a big factor, but so were your words. Then, when I got frustrated on the training course, you helped me and gave me tips and showed me how to do it. Now because of that, I'm a lot better at it. And then there was that dragon ride…that's probably the most fun I had in so long."

Cole shooed all that away like it was nothing. "I'm the leader, it's a part of my role to help others." There was a moment of silence. "Want to know something?" the earth ninja asked. "Just promise me you won't laugh. The others never stop teasing me about it."

"I won't laugh, that's a promise."

"Well, I used to be scared of dragons." He watched the straight face the teal kunoichi had. "I used to think they never existed in Ninjago. That was until I got my Golden Weapon, but for each Golden Weapon, there was a guardian…a dragon. Then I became best friends with it, until it had to leave to go to the Spirit Coves and become adults." He watched as Reyna slumped down and still had a straight face. "You don't find that funny? Or you find it boring?"

She sat up. "Neither. It's understandable to not believe in something ridiculous until you see it, and it's also understandable to be scared of dragons. I was scared of yours before I realized how fun it is to ride on one."

The earth ninja was speechless. His brothers had always made fun of him about it, but here was Reyna, who felt the same. "Want to go try the training course again?" Cole cracked a smile.

Reyna looked up at him with determination shining in her eyes. "Let's go!" She grabbed his hand and pulled him out, not even giving Cole a chance to walk instead of being pulled.

They got to the deck and saw that Lloyd was the only one there. Astra had left, and Kai was still sitting on top of the Mountain. "Alright I'll do this!" She tried it and she had gotten better. All the practice paid off. She made it past the carousel with ease. She timed her jumps right over the spinning logs, and she could jump a lot higher now than before thanks to help from the ninja. Next she breezed past the a metal spinning circle with swords attached, but when she jumped to the logs that move up and down, she lost her footing and fell. Cole rushed over to her.

"Are you okay?" he asked with concern.

She winced. "My leg hurts, but not much. I'll be fine."

"I think you might not want to try it again. At least, not until your leg is better." the earth ninja said gently.

The nature kunoichi got up without much difficulty. "Yeah, you're right. Not until tomorrow I suppose."

* * *

Astra had went to the kitchen. It was almost dinner, so she had decided to make dinner for everyone, but the symptoms of her disease were kicking in, for which she could do almost nothing about. She was feeling tired, which she was feeling everyday, but she kept pushing herself to train. Zane even told her to take it easy, or even quit being a kunoichi, but she wouldn't bring that to herself, not now anyway.

She heard footsteps behind her. She turned around and saw none other than the white ninja. Astra managed a smile. "Hi, Zane."

Zane smiled back at her. "Hello, Astra. I thought I would find you here, trying to make dinner for us. I also thought you may need some assistance."

She nodded sheepishly. "Um, yeah. I don't know what they like, and I don't cook often either."

"Then why don't you do something else? I can cook dinner for us, and I sense you are not feeling well."

The light kunoichi gritted her teeth. Why did Zane have to be a robot? Why did he have to know she wasn't feeling good? "It's okay, I can still do some things," she defended herself.

The ice ninja walked right up to her and put his hand on her shoulder. "I know you are not in much of a position to cook. You should get some rest. You've been too hard on yourself ever since you became a kunoichi."

Astra looked down. She knew he was right. You shouldn't work too hard, but it's not like Sensei Wu knew about her condition, so he would most likely make her do the training course and other exercises.

She began to feel dizzy and weak. She knew it was a part of the symptoms for not getting any help on it. She also knew she hadn't eaten in a while, which could also contribute. She groaned, and Zane noticed she was getting worse.

"Sit down, or perhaps you should lay down on your bed," he suggested. He tried to stay calm, but he was very afraid of what could happen. The others not knowing and her not wanting them to know didn't help either of them. "I'll get you a glass of water." He filled up a glass and walked Astra to her room. She laid down on her bed, not feeling any comfort from that. She drank the glass, but that didn't help much for her weakness. The dizziness, however, did subdue.

"I'll go make dinner. Call out if you need anything." Zane said as he turned to walk back to the kitchen.

"Won't that alert the others too?"

Zane froze, but didn't turn around. "They have to find out sooner or later, Astra. I think sooner would be better for us all." He walked out without another word, leaving the yellow kunoichi by herself to think of whether or not she wanted the others to know.

Astra didn't know it, but Zane had tears in his eyes because of seeing the love of his life in that condition. He didn't know whether she felt the same way, though. He hoped his plan would work, but with Jay and Nya gone, he wasn't so sure…it depended much on them being here so they could be on their way.

* * *

Dinner time came fast for the ninja, and a bit too fast for Astra. When Zane came to tell her dinner was ready, she said she wasn't hungry, and Zane told everyone else to leave some food for her if she decided to eat later. When asked why she wasn't present, he had to quickly make a lie and said that she was feeling nauseous and maybe she would eat later. All of them, even Sensei Wu, dismissed it as random nausea that happens to most people.

"So," Kai said, carefully making sure he swallowed before talking. "When whoever our enemies are come here, what's our plan?"

Cole spoke up. "I've been thinking about that, and based on what we know about them, which is little," he hinted for their Sensei to tell them a little more about their enemies, but he acted like Cole never said anything, so the leader just continued. "I think, obviously, an attack would be best. What kind of an attack, I'm not sure, but I'm open to any suggestions."

"They would make Jay and Nya fight us," Sensei Wu muttered loudly. Everyone turned to look at him.

"What did you say?" Kai asked.

"Our enemies will make Jay and Nya fight us," he repeated, but this time to everyone, not just himself.

"They can pretend to fight us, right?" Lloyd asked hopefully.

His uncle shook his head. "Our enemies are not stupid. They can tell the different between fighting and fake fighting. Then they will attack _all_ of us, that's quite certain."

"Then what choice do we have?" Zane asked rhetorically. "We have to get them back somehow."

The black ninja looked at his unofficial girlfriend amusedly. "Your time to shine, Reyna. You said you're good at coming up with ideas. Here's your chance to show us!" He smiled a bit deviously, as if he was planning for this.

Said kunoichi shot him a jokingly-threatening look, and then turned back to face the others. "Um, I'm no fighting expert, of course. We have four guys with elemental powers, and two girls who can just barely fight and control their elements, and an elderly man who can still fight and use Spinjitzu."

"That is not true," Zane butted in. "You and Astra have gotten better at controlling your elements."

"Better, yes, but nature isn't much use out with rocks and sand. Light is, but I'm not sure if Astra can control her element well enough to be of a lot of use." She looked at the sad look the white ninja on his face. "No offense, but we all know it's true," she said quickly, and Zane nodded, as much as he didn't want to.

"If any of us see anyone…suspicious, I guess, because we have no clue what 'they' look like, then holler and we'll get ready. Also, Sensei," she addressed her teacher. "Would it be possible to create a diversion so Jay and Nya can come to our side?"

He thought for a minute or two before giving his answer. "I don't think it will be possible to do that, unless we manage to draw all the men they come with to us, and either somebody brings Jay and Nya back, or they come back by themselves, the latter I don't think will happen."

"Why is it not possible?" The red ninja got angry.

"If Jay and Nya said no to anything that 'he' wanted, they would've gotten a torture most likely, and they likely would agree to anything they say now. We would have to drag them to our side."

"Then you guys will just have to fight as hard as you can to draw as many of these men to you." Reyna said matter-of-factly.

"Woah, woah, what do you mean by 'you guys'?" Lloyd asked indignantly. "Aren't you helping?"

"You heard Sensei, he said we'd have to bring them back. Astra and I can do that, since we wouldn't be of much use fighting."

"What do we do after Jay and Nya are with us?" Zane asked.

"We defeat our enemies, of course!" Kai shouted.

"I think we should put Jay and Nya behind us, and Reyna and Astra can watch over them." Cole said. "If what Sensei said about them doing whatever our enemies tell them to do, then they may attack us and we have to stop that."

No one disagreed with what Cole said. He was right. They would have to be watched, at least until they win the fight. Or _if_ they win is the question…

* * *

 **So I realized that my last few chapters have gone down in quality, and I want to fix that by making the rest of my chapters better. SO, I ask you readers to tell me in a review/private message what you find a good/entertaining chapter in a story. And then I'll try to make my coming chapters better with your opinions/suggestions/feedback. Although I think a factor in this could be that I stretched some things a bit longer than they should've and a couple chapters were like 50% filler. Maybe I need to get some stuff going? If that is/was the problem, then I think it'll be fixed when they find the kunoichi of wind/life and get their weapons, which will be pretty fun in my opinion.**

 **Also Reyna and Astra lacked character development so I'm hoping this chapter developed them a bit, although I still don't think it's much. And geez their relationships are going slow xD might have to fix that if you think it's too slow...**

 **Anyways hope you liked it and send me some feedback please!**


	18. Battle at the Mountain

**...Yes, I'm alive.**

 **Seriously, I am sooo sorry for the big delay. I wrote a chapter on King Me! last week and had absolutely no idea I would be sooo busy this week. I had so much homework everyday, I struggled time to write this, but I wrote like 1,750 words today lol.**

 **Anyways, hope you like it!**

* * *

Chapter 18: Battle at the Mountain

Morning came too quickly for the ninja. Kai woke up grumpy because Nya still wasn't in his sights, and, of course, being the overprotective brother he is, wanted to know is she was safe. Of course, he didn't like that Jay was gone either, since their bond was close too, almost like brothers.

Zane made a quick breakfast for everyone, because he figured if someone else tried cooking it may take a while and they needed to be on the lookout as fast as they could. They ate some pancakes and went outside to wait, as they did all day yesterday.

* * *

Jay and Nya had been told to go with Jaylor and some men to the Mountain of a Million Steps. Palmer knew the ninja would be there to try and stop them, so he sent extra men with them. They had been told Jaylor had complete control over them, and that if he commands them to attack their own friends, they should, else consequences will follow.

They left early in the morning in the same jeeps. They got there at around noon.

* * *

Lloyd perked up at a sound in the distance. He saw smoke desert, and then vague shadows of what looked to be some sort of a car. "Hey!" he shouted out, hoping somebody on the Bounty could hear him. He was looking east, while Kai was looking west. Cole was cheering over Reyna's remarkably fast healed leg after the fall she had yesterday, and she also completed the course several times that morning.

"What is it?" Kai appeared behind him and looked at the green ninja.

Lloyd pointed in the distance at the trailing smoke. "I think it's them."

Kai cracked his knuckles and put on a fierce look. "If it is, they better be prepared for me."

"Um…I'll go call everyone else," Lloyd said quickly before his brother became a bit touchy about the subject. He ran inside and called for his uncle and his other figurative brothers and sisters to come outside.

Everyone gathered on the Bounty. "Remember the plan, everyone?" Cole asked.

Everyone nodded. "Astra and I will bring Jay and Nya out of the crowd and guard them," Reyna said.

Cole nodded. "Right."

Sensei Wu showed up on time, walking slowly. "My pupils," he said, and everybody turned to face him. "Remember that this will not be an easy fight. They are strong, and although you are too, they have a big advantage in numbers."

Everyone acknowledged what he said. They mentally prepared themselves for the coming battle, as if they were going to war. "Uncle, will you be fighting?" Lloyd asked.

The old man smiled at his nephew. "I can't let you all do the hard work. I may be old, but I can fight. Also, remember this one thing as well: their men like men fear and mystery. Remain confident, and they will start to fear you."

Everyone took in what he said. "Easier said than done," Kai grumbled.

"Everybody, let us do our best!" Zane tried motivating everyone for confidence. They looked a bit glum, but they were ready. Or so they thought.

The vehicles were getting closer, and they could see that they were riding on jeeps, whoever "they" were.

"I can't see Jay or Nya anywhere," Astra said quietly.

Kai gritted his teeth. "She's right. If they don't have Nya and Jay, they aren't worth fighting."

"Kai, are you just going to give up like that?" the black ninja asked, shocked that the normally determined and persistent ninja would actually something like that.

"If we don't stop them, they will…release the third one…" Wu muttered quietly.

His students looked at him again with curiosity. Why was he not telling them? Yes, there were some teammates missing, but it wouldn't hurt to tell them so they know what they were up against.

"Guys, they're getting closer," the green ninja announced.

The group looked towards the coming jeeps. There didn't seem to be many, although each jeep held four men, all looking grey or pale.

The group jumped off the Bounty, preparing themselves for the approaching battle that would happen in mere minutes.

The jeeps stopped some meters ahead of where they were standing. Nobody could see Jay or Nya anywhere, but they couldn't let these men take what they came here for. One man, who looked to be of a higher rank than the others, stood in front of all his men. "Well, are you the fools that my master is so scared of?" he asked. "By the way, the name's Jaylor."

"And who may your master be?" Wu asked fiercely.

"More importantly, where are Nya and Jay?" Kai growled at Jaylor.

Jaylor laughed an evil laugh, and it sent shivers down everyone. "You'll see them soon enough. That's IF you let us go about our business peacefully. If not," he looked back at his men, that seemed to be like evil robots, except they were alive, just not showing any emotion. "Then be prepared to fight. And then we'll take what we came here for."

"Then a fight it is," Lloyd declared.

Without looking back, Cole signalled Reyna and Astra to stay behind.

"No nature around here, but there is plenty of earth. That should do it." Jaylor held out his hands pretended like he was going to crack his knuckles, and got into a fighting stance. The ninja and Wu did the same.

Neither side was making the first move, until the fire ninja lost his patience. He ran up to Jaylor, jumped just before Jaylor could attack him, and as Kai tried kicking him in the face, Jaylor bent backwards and dodged the attack, leaving Kai by himself to fend off a dozen weird looking grey men.

Not wanting their brother fight a dozen men alone, Zane and Lloyd charged in as well. Their elemental powers were weakened quite a bit, but Zane managed to freeze one man, and blocked another's punch and threw a punch back at the attacker. Lloyd used his Spinjitzu to charge right in, and Kai followed. Wu went for Jaylor with a flying kick, but Jaylor caught it and tossed him to the side. Years of experience allowed Wu to land on his feet safely, although he knew now that defeating Jaylor would be no easy task, not with a dozen other strong men to take care of.

Suddenly, the sound of more jeeps came from behind the ninja and kunoichi. Reyna and Astra looked behind to see another two jeeps, and these two had Jay and Nya in it, along with five other men. Zane, with his robot senses, knew that something was wrong behind him, and turned around to see the same thing Astra and Reyna were seeing.

"Go! We'll handle these guys!" the red ninja urged him to go help the kunoichi. Zane nodded and ran past the two girls and stood in front of them. Two men charged at him.

"NINJA GO!" he shouted the famous battle cry of the ninja, and he turned into his brilliant light blue tornado. His icy tornado sucked in the two men and spat them back out. One of the other three men ordered something they couldn't make out, and Reyna knew he had ordered Jay and Nya to attack.

"No! Don't do it!" she shouted at them. "We're your friends!" Unfortunately, Sensei Wu was right, and they may have tortured them to break them until they obey what they say. Jay shot a lightning bolt at her, and she felt like she had been hit by a Taser gun, just ten times more powerful. She flew back and lay on the ground, pained by the experience she just had.

A couple minutes passed. Her mind cleared and she could think clearly too. She heard Astra yelling something, but she wasn't sure what. She calmed herself down. _No, Reyna. You are not the helpless little girl you were some years ago. You're the kunoichi of nature now!_ she scolded herself. She got back up and ran towards the fight that the ice ninja was fighting by himself. She zipped right past the nindroid. Maybe it was the lightning, but she never felt so energetic; so _alive_. Before she knew it, she was spinning around in a teal tornado and once she stopped, she saw the five men collapsed on the floor.

"Uh, what happened?" she asked Zane and Astra, both of whose mouths were wide open.

"You-you did Spinjitzu!" Zane told her in amazement. "That's a very good accomplishment, and a major one in your training!"

Reyna looked baffled, but it explained why she had felt so energetic and like she was spinning. But after looking past Zane and Astra, her happiness and excitement was gone when she saw Cole's fight with Jaylor.

Cole's punch had been blocked by Jaylor, and it was 2 against 1 because there was another man with Jaylor fighting the earth ninja. The other man took this opportunity to punch Cole right in the stomach. The earth ninja doubled over in pain, but toughened up, only to take another blow in the chest, this one from Jaylor. The next thing he knew, he was in the air and then had a hard landing on the ground. He groaned, but bounced right back up, ready to teach these guys a lesson.

Reyna was fuming. She would _not_ watch her friends, especially Cole, get beat up by these fools. She ran right past Zane and Astra, the former who looked at what he thought would be his lover. "Can you fight?" he asked.

"No," she managed weakly. Zane could tell that from her voice, she wasn't feeling good. And then there were also Jay and Nya to worry about.

"I'll stay with you," he decided. "We'll keep a watch on Jay and Nya, and make sure they don't do what happened to Reyna just a few moments ago." She could agree with that.

Reyna ran up right beside Cole. "Reyna! W-what are you doing here?" he asked in a tired voice.

"I'm here to help you, silly."

"I thought plan was you'd watch over Jay and Nya with Astra!" he complained.

"Yeah, but that plan went out the window when I learnt Spinjitzu," she replied with a smug smile.

Cole regarded her with a newfound respect, although he kind of expected Reyna to learn Spinjitzu during a fight, considering the ninja had done the same, except that was against the Skulkin Army.

"Sorry to interrupt your newsflash, but I'd like this fight to end, preferably soon." Jaylor interrupted.

The teal kunoichi looked at her enemy. "Oh, don't worry, we'll finish it soon."

The black ninja grinned at Reyna's remark. "Yeah, what she said."

Jaylor snorted. "Just because your girlfriend learnt Spinjitzu doesn't mean it magically shifts the fight in your favour."

Reyna blushed angrily at his comment. "Well I'll show you!" she yelled and charged at him recklessly. The other man jumped in front and blocked her attack, and tossed her aside like the was nothing. Cole got angered by this too, and he used his power over earth to bring a rock out of nowhere and throw it at the man. The man was sent flying, out of their way. Cole looked at Jaylor with a fierce look, while Jaylor smiled at him like he was enjoying this. Cole lunged at his enemy with a flying tackle, but Jaylor jumped right over it, letting Cole hit the ground. He waited until Cole got up to bring up two black rocks out of the ground and moulded them into a thick "wall" that looked like a volcano, and it trapped Cole. Only his head could be seen. From the look on his face, Jaylor knew Cole was being crushed inside it.

"W-what is this?" Cole managed to speak.

"Black Earth," Jaylor replied casually.

 _Black Earth? What the heck is that?_ Cole thought in bewilderment. His body was being crushed inside, and to his left Reyna was sprawled out on the ground. Suddenly a figure jumped over Cole and whacked Jaylor with a staff, right on the head. Of course, it was Sensei Wu.

Jaylor didn't fall over, but he cried out in pain and held his head. His concentration broke and the volcano-like prison the earth ninja was held in for a few seconds collapsed, and so did Cole. He felt like he had been crushed, broken, and he couldn't move.

Jaylor noticed that all his men had been defeated, and he hadn't gotten what he wanted from here: releasing the third One. He looked around and ran into a jeep. Kai was going to run after him, but Lloyd stopped him.

Zane and Astra brought a brainwashed-looking Jay and Nya next to Sensei Wu.

"Nya! You're okay!" the fire ninja hugged his sister. It seemed on hearing those words, Nya remembered who and where she was.

"Kai!" she exclaimed, but then winced at hearing that horrible song in her head again.

"See, uncle, we beat them," Lloyd remarked cheerfully, although exhausted.

Wu looked at Cole, Reyna, Jay, and Nya. "Actually, we just barely avoided getting our butts kicked," Kai answered for his Sensei.

Wu nodded. "Kai is right. We narrowly avoided a defeat. If he releases the other Three, then that will be a big problem. We will not stand a chance."

"But by then, we'll be stronger, too," Zane countered. "In our next encounter, we may have the kunoichi of wind and life on our side as well, and maybe they may have learnt Spinjitzu, and perhaps even unlocked their true potentials."

Wu nodded. "That is true, but we must leave, even if they come back. I'm sure these four are not feeling their greatest," he added, talking about Cole, Reyna, Jay, and Nya.

"Yeah, and when the next time those guys show their faces around us," Kai added with a smile. "We'll be ready for them."

Wu sighed. "We can only hope."

* * *

 **Hurray! Reyna learns Spinjitzu! Weird that she learns it before Nya, but I think it makes sense because Nya wasn't on the Bounty for a lot of days that Reyna had to practice the training course. I also want them to learn it after they master the training course, because that's what happened to the ninja.**

 **Also would you guys mind if the fighting scenes in this story are like elemental bending in Avatar? For example, Cole would be able to "throw" a rock using a sword (once he gets it, that is), kind of like telekinesis. It would be similar to bending, but with a sword it would be, for example, bringing a rock up out of the group by lifting it and then swinging it to throw it.**

 **Hope you liked it!**


	19. Freedom of Wind

**I'm still alive.**

 **Wow, it's been a while. Like two and a half weeks or something. I was really busy because of school, and every spare moment I had I was playing a game or researching for a new laptop. That's really it.**

 **Anyways I hope you like this chapter!**

* * *

Chapter 19: Freedom of Wind

Zane had volunteered to steer the ship to the Coastal Plains himself while Nya was recovering. They couldn't figure out why she randomly screamed at times. One time, the ninja were playing music in their room when Nya came to knock. When she heard the music, she screamed and ran away before anybody could open the door. Jay seemed to be doing fine, however.

Cole still felt limp, but he was able to walk decently enough, which was progress everybody supposed. Reyna was hale and healthy like she had been before, and she helped Cole get around.

Meanwhile, Astra wasn't faring so well, either. It became increasingly hard to hide that something was wrong from the others, and both Zane and Astra knew if the ninja suspected anything, they'd go right to Zane, and the nindroid hated lying to his brothers. The yellow kunoichi spent much of her time with Zane in the bridge where he was steering. For a bit, he put the Bounty on auto-pilot to find out the town they were heading to.

He pressed some buttons that Astra had no clue what they did, and a map came up. The white ninja pressed some more buttons, and it pinpointed a town that they were relatively on course with. "I'll tell everyone to come here, so that they know I have found the town." he told her.

He announced it on their speaker system and everyone arrived shortly. "I have located the town we are headed to," Zane told everyone. He pointed to the red dot on the map. "This is the only town I found in all of the Coastal Plains. It is called Edgeham, which is funny because it is in the middle of a windy meadow, not on a cliff."

Kai shrugged. "Doesn't matter wherever it is as long as we find the kunoichi of wind and she accepts." Secretly, he was hoping she would take a liking to him, and he to her as well. He felt left out because his brothers, minus Lloyd, all got girlfriends while he was left alone. No matter how much they denied it, they were all a couple; he wasn't, and neither was Lloyd.

"Well, is that all?" Lloyd asked impatiently.

Zane nodded. "Yes. You may all go."

* * *

An hour later, Zane began to see the meadows of the Coastal Plains, and farther down to the horizon, the Endless Ocean. He figured they must be getting close to Edgeham. Soon enough, his assumption turned out to be correct; they saw a couple of farms here and there, and then a big, spinning windmill not far away from where they were.

"I am guessing that is Edgeham," Zane told Astra, who was too busy marvelling at the map of Ninjago to know why Zane was thinking that. "We will be there soon."

The ice ninja was right. The Bounty had landed on the outskirts of the town within five minutes. Some kids playing near the entrance looked at the Bounty in wonder, either knowing or not knowing that it was the home of Ninjago's greatest heroes.

Unlike the other two towns they had visited, Edgeham had no town sign. The ninja, kunoichi, and Sensei Wu all got off and strolled into the town, and then the kids saw who they were and got amazed with wide mouths. They ran off, probably to tell their parents about who they just saw.

The wind picked up and began blowing quite heavily, sending the ninja and kunoichi off-balance every once in a while. Cole and Nya had recovered well enough to come with the others.

The town was actually quite lively. They could hear some music coming down and to the side, and they assumed some kind of loud radio station was there or a live performance. They decided that would be the best place to start looking.

She was enjoying the music a lot, and she didn't notice the newcomers at all until one of her friends elbowed her. "Look who it is!" she said over the loud music and pointed to where the newcomers were. She looked and saw the ninja, heroes of Ninjago, along with their Sensei.

"Look, it's Kai," another one of her friends teased her which caused her to laugh. Somehow, she managed to let the DJ know to stop the music, and once it did, everybody in the crowd was confused why it stopped. She ran up the stage and grabbed the microphone.

"Everybody, I know you may be wondering why the music turned off. I know you want to continue dancing, but let me tell you that the heroes of Ninjago are amongst us, right behind you!" she yelled into the microphone happily.

A murmer went through the crowd until they turned around and saw the ninja, kunoichi, and Sensei all looking baffled.

Kai saw the girl that was at the mic. She had long auburn hair and a voice as good as her smile. He smiled, and knew that she was the kunoichi of wind. Likewise, the others were quite certain she was the one.

"But might I ask what brings you guys here?" the girl asked. "Certainly the heroes of Ninjago would not come here without reason, right?"

Kai was about to speak, but his teacher beat him to it. "We will tell you…privately. Why we are here does not concern anyone else."

The girl looked confused. Why would it not concern anyone else, yet their Sensei was willing to tell her? She shrugged, and handed the microphone over to the DJ, who announced he was going to start the music again. Nobody really cared about what had happened; they got right back to enjoying the music.

The girl got off the stage and walked over to the team with a smile, but she hid the fact that she was a bit nervous and maybe even scared of why it concerned her. She did her best to hide it, and lead them to her house.

"Oh! Brisa! You're home so soon." a female voice said. Moments later, they saw the person. It looked to be the girl's mother, and they also found out the girl's name was Brisa. "Oh, and you brought guests…a lot of them."

"Mom, these are the heroes of Ninjago, the ninja, kunoichi, and their Sensei." Brisa introduced them to her.

Her mom's eyebrows shot up in surprise. Then they came back down. "Oh yes, I remember seeing the faces of the ninja on T.V. before, but not the kunoichi. Are you new heroes?" she asked the girls.

Nya nodded. "We're on a quest to find five kunoichi, or female ninjas. So far there's three of us."

"And why does that bring you here?" Brisa asked.

"Because we believe the fourth kunoichi, the kunoichi of wind, is in this town." Sensei Wu answered.

Both mother and daughter looked surprised. "Well, kind of makes sense. This town is very windy." Brisa said slowly. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Kai staring at her. "Um, is that all you came here to say to me?"

Wu shook his head. "We have no leads to help us find the kunoichi faster. It has always been a gut feeling, and my gut tells me that the kunoichi of wind is right in front of me." He looked at Brisa.

Brisa frowned, then smiled, then a confused look. "M-me?" she asked, secretly hoping it was true and not true at the same time. The old man gave a nod, and so did the others.

Her mother, on the other hand, looked furious. "Brisa?! How can it be my daughter? There has to be a mistake!"

Wu shook his head again. "It is no mistake. We all believe she is the kunoichi of wind."

Her mother was at a loss of words. "B-but…" she turned to her daughter. "Brisa, tell me you aren't going to go with them."

Brisa's heart fell. She turned to the group, and Kai could now see her eyes were a hazel, close to his own eye colour. She felt very uncomfortable. On one hand, she finally had the opportunity to roam Ninjago if she went. On the other hand, her mom didn't want her to. That's how it always was. Her parents never let her go outside of the town, and the one time she did, she was grounded for a week. She wanted to be free. _Just like the wind…_ she thought.

She sighed. "Mom, I know you and dad wouldn't want me to go. Neither would grandma or grandpa, but, _I_ want to go." She was afraid of what would happen now, now that she told her what she wanted.

Her mother looked even more furious. "Wait till your dad gets home. Then we'll see whether you're going." She grunted, turned around, and walked away.

Brisa held her head low. She knew she would react by getting angry. They were always too overprotective of her.

Wu went up to her. "Don't worry. We will convince your parents."

That didn't make her feel better. "You don't understand. They're really stubborn."

"We'll handle them. Don't worry." Kai smiled at her, and she felt like she was going to melt. _He looks even better in person…_ she thought. She had always admired the red ninja.

"Uh, so, what do we do in the meantime?" Jay asked.

Brisa shrugged. "Wait for my dad. He's not going to listen to my decision either."

"We'll make him listen," the teal kunoichi said. Rememebering that Brisa didn't know who she was, she introduced herself. "Oh, I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Reyna, kunoichi of nature." She gave her a smile.

Astra was next. "I'm Astra, kunoichi of light. Or, well, would be, if I can even control my element…" she muttered. Zane put a hand on her shoulder. Brisa could only guess that Astra's self-esteem wasn't very good. Brisa already knew of the ninja and Nya, so they didn't need to introduce themselves.

Brisa's father came in a bit. Her mother explained to him what Wu and Brisa had said, and he gave a disapproving look to her. Brisa felt small and sad.

"Mr…ah, what is your last name?" Wu asked, feeling embarrassed he had forgotten to ask what he should call them.

"You can call me Mr. Silvio," he replied like he was bored.

"Yes. Mr. Silvio, you have to realize that it is her destiny to become the kunoichi of wind," Wu tried explaining to him.

"Destiny isn't decided by a gut feeling," Mrs. Silvio grumbled.

Mr. Silvio turned his head to his wife as if it was a _See what I mean?_ kind of thing.

Wu sighed. This was going to be tough to explain.

"Uh, in case you haven't noticed," Jay said. "It's her life. She's not a little girl anymore, clearly."

Brisa looked grateful to Jay, but she knew that wouldn't be enough to convince her parents.

"So? We are still her parents," Mr. Silvio said. "We can tell her what to do."

Kai gritted his teeth. Brisa's parents acted like they owned her and could tell her to do whatever they wanted. Well, Jay was right. It's her life, and she should be able to choose. "Brisa, it's your decision. If you want to come with us, then that's your choice. If you don't…well, it's still your choice. We won't force you."

Mrs. Silvio glared at the red ninja, but didn't say anything. She wanted to hear what her daughter had to say.

Brisa had to make a tough choice. Should she listen to her parents, or do her duty to become the kunoichi of wind? She also had her own desires, like travelling Ninjago which is likely what they'll be doing. "I…I'll be the kunoichi of wind." she said with a smile.

The team was happy but didn't cheer in front of her parents, who glared at them all.

"Fine. It's your choice," her father spat and walked away. Her mother didn't say anything, but followed her husband.

Brisa felt sad and lonely. Her parents were angrier than she thought. Still, she wasn't about to back down from what she had said. She wanted to prove to her parents that they did not need to protect her as they do.

"Well…I guess you should pack your bags," Nya broke the silence. Brisa nodded, and went up to her room. Within half an hour, they were off to the Bounty. Brisa's parents didn't even say goodbye to her.

* * *

 **I don't really like the part about the DJ and the music dance thing. I felt dumb writing it but I wanted them to meet her in a different way other than just a random run-in.**

 **Also may the fun (or, rather, interesting) stuff start now! Yeah they're going to get weapons now (FINALLY!) and I have some cool stuff planned out for that. A special someone is also going to come soon (perhaps next chapter).**

 **If you want to find out all this stuff, stay tuned :D**


	20. A Familiar Face

**Yay, another chapter! I wrote more than half of it today haha. Cool things going to start soon. Maybe I'm just over-excited because I FINALLY got to this point, and it may not be as cool as I'm hoping it will to you guys, but it's some creativity :)**

 **Also there's some foreshadowing right in the beginning of the chapter of something...it's so obvious in my opinion, I'm sure you could find it.**

 **Hope you like it!**

* * *

Chapter 20: A Familiar Face

By the time the team had got on the Bounty, it was almost dinner time. Unlike the other two times when they found Reyna and Astra, Brisa's parents did not offer dinner to them. Cole had volunteered to cook, but everybody shot him down and when Zane volunteered, the ninja, minus Cole and Zane himself, pranced in joy while the kunoichi laughed at their silliness.

"So, am I going to get some fancy clothing like that?" Brisa asked Sensei Wu once the laughter died.

"Oh, yes – I almost forgot. Well, you will get it now." he said seriously. Before Brisa could even open her mouth, the old man turned into a tornado of gold and engulfed her. At that very moment she thought this was all a trick to kill her, but she came out of it safe and sound, and dressed differently. Her kunoichi clothing was identical to the ones Nya, Reyna, and Astra wore, except hers was silver.

"Wow," she breathed as she got a look of what she was wearing. "So I guess now I'm officially the kunoichi of wind?"

Wu smiled and nodded but didn't say a word.

"Let's go inside," Nya suggested. "We can all relax there." Nobody disagreed as they all walked inside the Bounty. As part of tradition, Nya gave her new sister a tour of the Bounty. Once the tour was done, they entered the kitchen area to find everybody sitting and talking and laughing, so Nya and Brisa joined in and they traded little stories so the new kunoichi of wind could get to know them better. Dinner was much the same as well.

The morning started out much the same as any other. The Bounty had landed outside of Ninjago City over the night. The four original ninja were about to eat breakfast when they heard Nya's voice. "Guys! Come to the bridge! There's…something that I need to show you all!" Concerned but without asking a word, they all followed her into the bridge. There, they saw someone climbing right up onto their deck.

"Let's see what this is all about…" Cole said slyly. The ninja ran out and jumped on to the deck.

"What are you doing here?" Kai demanded.

"Yeah, who gave you permission?" Jay yelled at the person, who was a woman. They could see her clearly now. She had grey hair, glasses, a cream-coloured long-sleeve shirt and green pants.

Sensei Wu came out to the deck to see what all the commotion was about. Then he saw the woman.

"Wu," she said first.

"It's…it's been a while, Misako," he said back slowly.

Zane looked just as confused as his brothers. "You know each other?"

Wu walked up to them slowly with help from his staff. "Yes, we do. We are…long time friends." In his eyes, she still had the same beau-…err, looks, as she did years ago. Only difference now was that she looked older, with greying hair and some wrinkly skin around her eyes and mouth, but that's to be expected. "What brings you here?" he asked.

She smiled. "I saw the ship flying over Ninjago City, and I knew I'd find you here, so I decided to visit you after all these years."

Wu returned the smile. "You are welcome to stay here as long as you like."

Cole spoke up. "Um, Sensei, where is she going to sleep?!"

Wu thought for a moment. "There is one extra bed in the kunoichi's room, meant for the kunoichi of life. She can stay there for now."

Misako chuckled. "I don't need to sleep here…I have an apartment in Ninjago City. I can stay there." Then a bell struck inside her. "Did you say…kunoichi of life?"

Wu nodded. "Yes. Have you read of that prophecy?"

"Yes I have. In fact, I have it somewhere in my apartment."

"Well then, come on inside."

Wu and Misako headed inside, but before Misako did, she had something to tell the ninja. "By the way, nice pajamas." The ninja looked down and realized they were still in their pajamas, and they smacked their foreheads. Misako laughed out loud, while Wu chuckled at the comment.

Inside, the first person Wu and Misako ran into was Lloyd. "Lloyd," Misako whispered. Even after all these years, she still recognized him, but she did not think he would look this old.

"Uh, who are you? And how do you know my name?" he asked cautiously.

"Lloyd, this is…" Wu hesitated and looked over to his old friend. They agreed quickly and silently they would not reveal it yet. "An old friend of mine."

Lloyd's cautiousness turned into a friendly smile. "Oh, nice to meet you. But, how do you know my name?"

"Oh, I've heard your name on TV!" she replied quickly. "Who doesn't know Ninjago's greatest hero?" she chuckled half-heartedly. _My own son…beat my husband,_ she thought bitterly.

"What's your name?" the green ninja inquired.

"My name is Misako," she said. "I'm sure your uncle can tell you more about me, if you'd like."

Lloyd nodded, but he wondered how this woman knew so much about him, like how Wu was his uncle. "Um, I'll be in the living room." Lloyd said slowly and drifted away.

Once there was nobody around, Misako decided to ask her long-time friend a question. "Do the ninja have weapons?"

Wu sighed. "Sadly, they don't. The Golden Weapons are likely destroyed, and I'm not sure about any other weapons they could use."

Misako thought for a moment, and remembered an old legend. She wasn't sure if it was true, but if it was, it was the perfect thing that Wu needed right now. "Why don't you call everyone somewhere? Out on the deck, or, I don't know, you have to have a control room somewhere, right?"

"Yes, yes, of course. I'll tell Nya to tell everyone to come to the bridge. Come, let us go." Wu lead Misako to the bridge.

In there, they surely found the kunoichi of water, back faced to them. "Nya, could you call everyone to the bridge please?" Wu asked.

"Sure thing, Sensei." She turned around and was startled to see an unfamiliar face. "Oh, hi." She didn't know what else to say, so she just blurted her question out. "Who is this?"

Wu looked a bit absent-minded, so Misako replied. "I am Misako, an old friend of your Sensei." The old woman smiled.

Nya smiled back. "Nice to meet you. I'm Nya, the kunoichi of water."

Misako nodded. "Ah, so there are kunoichi here too. I was expecting just the ninja; I didn't know Wu had found female ninjas as well."

Nya chuckled lightly. "Yeah, there's a prophecy of five kunoichi." She walked over to their announcement system. "Could everyone come to the bridge please? Sensei wants us all here."

One by one the ninja and kunoichi filed in. "So, we're all here. What's this all about?" Jay asked, but Nya pointed to Wu.

"It is I who has something to say," Misako said.

"Uh, sorry for interrupting, but, who is that?" Reyna asked. "I don't remember seeing her on the ship anytime lately."

"You mean to say you didn't notice her earlier?" Wu asked. He waved it aside. "No matter. This is Misako, an old friend of mine."

"Can we get on with what she had to say?" Kai said with the impatient tone he has.

"Yes, yes," Misako said. "I was the one who asked Wu to call you all here. First, Wu," she faced the Sensei. "Have you heard of the Elemental Blades?"

Wu thought for a while. Silence. Then a light went off in the old man's head. The temple he had seen a couple of weeks earlier, when he saw the vision of the four kunoichi. It all made sense now. "Yes, I have heard of it, but I always thought they were a legend."

Misako laughed shortly. "Oh, they're no legend; they're real. The Elemental Blades of Fire, Ice, Lightning, and Earth are in the Temple of Light, on the Dark Island."

"But wouldn't those be weapons for the ninja?" Nya asked. "What about for us, the kunoichi?"

"Yes, I'm getting to that," the old woman said patiently. "There are four other Elemental Blades: the Blades of Water, Nature, Light, and Wind."

Wu remembered now. He had heard the story of the Elemental Blades of Water, Nature, Light, and Wind as well. "Yes, there is a story about that. "I remember hearing it."

"Can you tell us the story?" Brisa asked excitedly. She had a knack for history and liked learning about it, especially Ninjago's history, which, while she didn't know a whole lot about, fascinated her.

Wu sighed. "Very well. It may also…help in other ways. Once upon a time, there were two brothers named Byron and Nekro. Byron was the older one. Their father had been the one to create the Elemental Blades of Water, Nature, Light, and Wind. One day, their father told them both that when he dies, each of them would get half of his possessions. Naturally, Byron had wanted more, and he expected more too, because he was the older sibling. His desire for more eventually turned to a greed, where he was willing to even kill his own brother for it. Byron stole the Elemental Blades from his father, and wanted to attack Nekro. Nekro, with no weapon, fought Byron for a bit, but he struggled to hold all the power the blades held, and Nekro took two of them to defend himself: the Elemental Blades of Nature and Light, while Byron used the other two. The two brothers fought, much like I did with Garmadon many years ago…" At this point in the story, Misako looked sad, remembering Garmadon, her husband.

"…Eventually, Nekro won, much like I did against Garmadon: younger brother beat older brother, but just barely. Nekro told their father of Byron's attack, and for that, Byron was exiled to never see his family again. And so he wandered around Ninjago for a long time. Finally, their father hid them, but before he did that, he put some spell on the Blades that would transform them into a gem, and when the person who is destined to wield one of them touches it, it will become a Blade again. So far, nobody has found out where they were hidden." Wu left out a part of the story, something he did not want the ninja and kunoichi to know.

"Actually," Misako said after the story was done. "People are now beginning to search for where they are. I think the kunoichi are destined for the Blades."

"This is cool and all," Cole butted in. "But how are we supposed to find these Elemental Blades?"

"I'm glad you asked," Misako said happily because she could be helpful. "Do you happen to have a map anywhere, perhaps on that screen?"

"Sure, I'll pull it up right away," the water kunoichi responded. She walked over, pressed a few buttons, and a map was on the screen shortly.

Misako walked over to it. "This is Ninjago City," she said, pointing to a big black dot in the center of the screen. "And this is roughly where we are right now." She pointed just outside of it in a sandy region. "One of the Blades can be found here, here, here, and here." The locations she had pointed to were the Lonely Cave, Akra Forest, Desert Pyramid, and the Coastal Plains.

"I get it now!" Zane burst out suddenly. "We all thought those for locations Sensei had seen were where we would find the kunoichi, but we found Nya, the kunoichi of water, right in front of us, not at the Lonely Cave. That means these locations are where we would find the Elemental Blades."

Wu began to realize everything. The puzzle pieces had begun to fall in place, except the prophecy. However, they did get the first two lines of that figured out. "Yes, Zane, I believe you are right." Wu smiled at the nindroid.

"Uh, I see a problem," Lloyd said. "She said there are weapons on the Dark Island, in the Temple of Light. Do we go there, or do we find the ones here in Ninjago first?"

"Lloyd's right," Kai put in. "Four weapons _are_ better than one."

"There's another thing you may want to know that can help you decide that," Misako said with a bit more information she had that the others, not even Wu, had. "There is also something called the Black Orb. It may sound silly, but it corrupts anyone, and in the hands of the wrong people, it can cause lots of destruction and suffering."

Cole winced. "Like those guys we fought at the Mountain of a Million Steps. They may be looking for this Black Orb thing."

"Or, they could just look for the Elemental Blades," Misako added. "The four Blades combined can give as much power as the Black Orb, but the Blades are likely easier to find. They may look for them instead of the Orb."

The ninja, kunoichi, and even Wu looked at Misako in wonder. How much did she know? She knew a lot of their mission, and quite possibly their enemies as well.

"So, what's it going to be, Sensei?" Astra said with enough energy to make her sound normal. She didn't want the others to know she wasn't feeling very good.

"Are we going after the Blades on the Dark Island, or the ones here in Ninjago?" the lightning ninja asked.

Wu thought for a long while. "I think we'll go for the ones here in Ninjago," he said finally.

"But what about the kunoichi of life?" his nephew asked.

"Woah, hold it. What's this kunoichi of life?" the newest kunoichi asked, not having been told this stuff earlier.

"That's the fifth kunoichi," the nature kunoichi informed her. "But, we still have to look for her, don't we?"

"I think she can wait," Wu said firmly. "We will find her after we get the Elemental Blades. Let us head to the Coastal Plains."

"But we were just there!" the fire ninja exploded.

"Would you rather we go to the Lonely Cave?" Wu asked with slight humour.

Kai shook his head in an "I don't care" way. "Whatever. I just want to have a weapon back. I don't care where we go."

"Then Coastal Plains it is," Nya said. I'll set the course right now."

* * *

 **Hurray, Misako's back! Neither Wu nor Misako are telling Lloyd, not just yet, though. Don't tell him either.**

 **So, you get a back story, which I found a bit weird. I had a bit different and better idea before but I forgot what it was so yeah bare with this. I'm thinking of how to make the third line of the prophecy, "Battle between brothers will finally end", fit in this story now. I had that idea before of what it was going to be but it sounded waaay to anime-like and decided to go with a more likely route.**

 **Also lol once they get their weapons, be ready for some Avatar-like fights!**

 **Hope you liked it!**


	21. Love is in the Air

**Here's another chapter for all of you. I've been getting a lot of follows and favourites on this story and on me, so thanks for all of that support!**

 **So a lot of you seemed to like this romance stuff (seriously I've gotten a decent amount of reviews that say that) so here's an entire chapter dedicated to advancing their relationships forward. I know that before this chapter, nothing was really progressing, not even Jay and Nya who are together in the show. This chapter has a lot of advancement, or so I think. Don't expect anything lovey-dovey, though. I hate lovey-dovey. That goes for the entire story.\**

 **Next, I changed Brisa's colour to silver (pink made little sense to me now, definitely not with the Elemental Blade) and the kunoichi of life is now orange, because you know, life should be a bright colour like yellow or orange or something.**

 **Also, I'm planning on updating King Me! next because it's been a long time since I've done that.**

 **Finally, enjoy the earth and (one) air pun(s)! (there's like two earth ones lol. I know, not much. Air is in the title.)**

* * *

Chapter 21: Love is in the Air

"WAIT!" Misako shouted. Everyone looked at her.

"Yes?" Nya asked politely.

"I still need to get off this ship and head to my apartment," she said. "I need to go home."

"Nonsense," Wu told her. "You can stay here. We have an extra bed right now, and I think the kunoichi would appreciate a female teacher."

Misako looked at the kunoichi, which all smiled at her. She had to make a decision quickly. "Fine" she sighed. "I'll stay here for at least a bit." Then she looked at Lloyd. She would have to tell him, but not now.

* * *

Nya was steering the Bounty to the Coastal Plains as Sensei Wu had told them all. That was until she heard footsteps behind her. She turned around to the noise to see Jay standing there, holding a plate with what looked to be a slice of cake.

"Hey, Jay," she greeted. "Are you going to eat that, or should I help you?"

"No…it's…actually meant for you…" he said slowly as if he had was thinking of something else to say.

Nya looked pleasantly surprised. She didn't know Jay could cook. But then she got suspicious. "Did Zane make that?"

Jay looked up, startled. "No, he just gave me the directions on what to do. I made it myself, though." He walked over to her and handed her the plate. "Here, try it," he said nervously. He hoped she liked it.

Nya took it with a smile, although on the inside she wondered why he was doing this today of all days. She took a bite from it, and it was quite good. Looks like Zane's recipe did the trick.

"Is it good?" Jay asked anxiously.

Nya nodded, her mouth full with the cake from which she had taken a second bite. Once she was done, she placed the dish on the table. "Jay, why did you do this today? What makes it so special?"

Now it was Jay's turn to look surprised. "You mean you don't remember?"

"Remember what?" As soon as she said those words, she knew what he was talking about. Of course.

"It's been a year since we had our first date at Mega Monster Amusement Park…" he said, rubbing the back of his head.

Nya chuckled lightly. "Right! How could I forget? To be honest, I actually forgot, but I remembered when you asked me if I remembered or not." She gave him a true smile.

Jay took a deep breath. "Nya, I know our first date was a flop because of the Serpentine, and the ones we've had in the past year weren't very big or romantic either…but…I just want to let you know that I really like you!" he blurted out.

Nya blushed, still having a smile on her face. "I do too, Jay. I do too."

Jay looked a bit shocked. "You…you do?"

Nya laughed. "Of course I do, silly! That's why I went with you all those times!"

Jay looked relieved. "Well, that's good to hear." He smiled sheepishly. There was an awkward silence.

"Jay…"

"Nya…"

They both spoke at the same time, but Nya stopped and let Jay speak. "Nya, you're the most amazing girl I've met. Honestly. You're beautiful, smart, strong, courageous, brave…I can go on. It's not just your personality that I like; we also have common interests, like we both love to invent and we like machines and technology. I can't really say that for any other girl."

Nya felt her heart flutter. "Jay, I can say the same about you. You're also smart, but you're also funny, sweet, and even in bad times you give us hope with your words. I-I think…" she trailed off, and she could tell Jay had as well.

"Water and lightning come together…" Jay said as if entranced.

"…Just like rain and lightning during a thunderstorm." Nya finished off. That was something Sensei Wu had told the two of them, privately. The unofficial couple now realized what that meant, and they realized they were meant for each other. The distance between them had gotten shorter, and soon their lips locked, and they had a true kiss.

The unofficial couple was now official.

* * *

Reyna was looking for Cole, but knowing him, he would probably be in the exercise room. She entered, and she found Cole there, lifting a barbell that looked to her like the same weight as half the Bounty. Then she saw his chest, and her eyes grew wide.

Cole, just taking notice of her entrance, placed the barbell down. "Cole, you…you…" the nature kunoichi trailed off and couldn't say the rest of her sentence. She stared at muscular chest and six pack abs. She never knew he would be that muscular.

The earth ninja looked down to where she was looking, and then smiled. "You like that, don't you?" he asked jokingly.

"J-just…put on…" she stuttered and still could not finish her sentence.

"Oh, alright, fine. I'll put on my shirt." He walked over to where the top half of his gi lay and wore it. "Better?"

Reyna took a sigh of relief. "Yes, that's better."

"So, what's up?" he asked. Then he remembered something he had forgotten to say to her. "Oh, I almost forgot. I haven't formally congratulated you on learning Spinjitzu. So, I guess, congrats on that! It's a big step in your training."

Reyna nodded happily, happy that her accomplishment had been acknowledged by the one she cared for most on the ship. "Thanks. A lot of the credits go to you, though. You helped me master the training course."

Cole waved it aside. "Naw, it was you who did it. It was your energy. I only showed you how to do it."

This is what Reyna really loved about Cole: he helped people when in need, and he was humble and modest about it. He didn't brag much when compared to Kai, Jay, or even Lloyd.

Reyna shrugged. "Still. If it wasn't for you, I probably wouldn't have learnt it by now."

There was an awkward silence. "Soooo what brings you here?" Cole asked to get a conversation going.

"Well…" Reyna stopped. She had no idea why she came here. "To talk to you?" she said in a voice that was like a half-statement and half-question, which left the black ninja confused. _I don't know, my heart brought me here_ ,she wanted to say, but she didn't. The teal kunoichi realized she didn't actually know much about the black ninja, so now would be the perfect time for it. Training was in the afternoon, anyway. "Why do you come here so often?" she inquired.

Cole shrugged. "I guess being the earth ninja, I have to stay in shape."

Reyna, still having visions of Cole shirtless, wondered why on earth he would have to keep lifting weights when he was the strongest person on the Bounty by a landslide. "Cole?"

"Yeah?"

"You already know my parents. Where are yours?"

"My dad lives in Ninjago City. He's a member of The Royal Blacksmiths, a group that danced and sang songs. As for my mom…" at the mention of his mom, he furrowed his bushy eyebrows. He didn't say anything more.

"What about your mom?" Reyna asked cautiously.

The earth ninja gritted his teeth. "She…she's somewhere else." Reyna didn't want to ask where "somewhere else" is. She figured she'd ask another time, or possibly find out herself.

"Want to go on a dragon ride?" Cole asked suddenly. He remembered she had liked it last time, and he figured going on one right now wouldn't be much of a problem, especially when they knew where they were going.

The kunoichi of nature's face lit up. "Sure! I'd love to!" The two walked out on to the deck while Cole summoned his brown elemental dragon, Rocky. The two went for a ride for a bit and located the Bounty again.

"It may not be as fun as the first time, but it's not like it's boring!" Reyna exclaimed. "Thanks, Cole." She ran into him and wrapped her arms around him. Cole, being caught off-guard, hugged her back.

* * *

Zane was reading about books for treatments and cures for illnesses and diseases. He had found some things that might work for Astra, and he even made them, but they worked only for a bit of time. He stayed up late at night, and when the matter of him sleeping late was brought up by his brothers, they just assumed it as "robot stuff". He truly cared for Astra, and he wanted her to live as long as she could. But if she died like she claimed she would, nothing would seem long enough for the white ninja. However, today was one of Astra's better days, as she was doing everything a regular person would perfectly fine, although days like these were rare for her.

"Zane, why are you trying so hard?" the yellow kunoichi questioned the nindroid.

Zane looked up from the book. "Because you are the first person I care about this way. I do not want to lose you. I _cannot_ lose you."

Astra felt tears come to her eyes. Here she was, rejecting any possible chance of a relationship with him because she knew she was going to die soon, but Zane was willing to keep trying to save her because he cared for her. That took true dedication. Just knowing she was going to die discouraged her from thinking she could become the kunoichi of light, but at the same time, she had said that she chose to take this path because she wanted to do something important before her time comes. "On one hand, I want to become kunoichi of light, but on the other, I don't think I can…"

"Yes, you can," Zane tried encouraging her. "You must work on your self-esteem first, however."

Astra replayed those words in her head over and over. She supposed Zane was right. She's always had a low self-esteem, and even her parents told her that. "How do I master the training course when I don't even feel good enough to do it?!" There she went again about not believing in herself…

Zane put the book down. That was actually a valid concern. How could she do it if she wasn't in the right shape to do so? His brain gears were churning, trying to think of a good solution to the problem, but he couldn't. Instead, he said what anybody would've said. "Try your best. I will assist you when you need it."

Astra felt grateful to the ice ninja. She felt like she was being cared for on the Bounty for the first time. But then she realized that there was somebody who cared for her all this time: Zane. The problem was that she had always turned her back on him and didn't really appreciate that he was helping her all this time. "Zane?"

"Yes Astra?"

"I-I'm sorry for ignoring you all this time," she spoke hoarsely because of her dry throat and tears.

"Ignoring me for what?" The nindroid was confused.

"I realized now that you've been trying to help me all this time. I never appreciated your help…until now."

Zane stared at her. "To me, it does not matter whether you recognize my assistance or not. It matters to me that what I do will help you."

"Sadly, that's not really the case…" Astra replied bitterly. "It's too late to help now. Not even a hospital can."

"But I'm not letting you leave me!" Zane's voice rose by a lot, and he began to shed tears as well. "Not…not after I think I have found who is right for me…" he said in a much lower tone.

Astra was very surprised by the ice ninja's sudden outburst. She jumped in front of him and embraced him tightly. Zane, not caring about his own surprise of the gesture, returned it. He wasn't going to let her go.

* * *

Kai knew where Brisa would be. On the deck, of course. Where else would a kunoichi of wind be? He had taken a liking to her, but he needed to know more about her personality, so he walked out to the deck. He was right: Brisa was there, standing next to the rail with her elbows propped on it.

"Brisa," Kai's voice brought the new kunoichi out of her thoughts. She turned around to see the fire ninja and felt all fuzzy inside. She had always admired him the most of all the ninja, everytime she saw him on the news out in Edgeham.

"Hey, Kai," she said softly with a smile. He smiled back and walked towards her. He took a deep breath and exhaled.

"It's actually pretty nice out here," Kai remarked. "I should come here more often. You know, just to cool down or something."

Brisa laughed warmly. She had been thinking about her parents, but Kai interrupted her. Not that she would mind talking to him, but she wanted to think about what her parents are thinking of her, and if she made the right decision to become the kunoichi of wind.

Kai noticed her staring off into the distance. "Is something wrong?"

She came back from her thoughts a second time. "No, just thinking."

"About what?"

Brisa bit her tongue. She knew she shouldn't have said that. "About my parents," she replied hesitantly.

Kai shifted back from the rail a bit. Her parents seemed strict, and they didn't say goodbye to her. Were they angry? Was Brisa angry? He decided to take a risk. "Uh…do you think they're angry with you? For leaving without their permission?"

Brisa shrugged like it didn't matter. It was a lie, of course. She didn't want Kai to worry about her own family problems. Why should he get involved, anyway?

A strong gust of wind blew them back a bit. "Sooner or later, that's the kind of wind you'll be controlling," the red ninja joked.

She smiled at him. "I don't have any fighting experience, though."

Kai dismissed that with a wave of his hand. "Don't worry. You'll learn all of that like we did."

"When do I start my training?"

"I think Sensei and Misako are training us all this afternoon. The boys and I need to sharpen up and practice our fighting skills. We got rusty in our last battle."

Brisa dropped her smile. "Last battle?"

Kai chuckled lightly. "Oh, right, you don't know about it. We found out who the villains are. I'm sure Sensei will tell us more about them soon. And now we have Misako, too."

The silver kunoichi nodded. "Yeah, she seems to know a lot. But what about this battle?"

Kai shrugged. "I don't know what else to say, really. We found out who our villains are, and we fought some of them. That's really it. Oh, they kidnapped Jay and Nya, too." Kai's voice had a bit of anger in it, but whether to the kidnappers or Jay and Nya, Brisa couldn't tell.

The red ninja looked around. "Well, I'll go inside, I suppose. I promised Lloyd I'd play some games with him in a bit, and it's about time I do that." He turned around to walk away.

"Oh, Kai!" she said before she could control herself.

The fire ninja turned around. "What is it?"

"I-I admire you…I always have, actually," she informed him with a blush. She looked at the floor.

Kai's eyebrows first shot up, but then he laughed. "Well, see you in the afternoon, Brisa." He walked back inside.

* * *

 **Jay and Nya are officially a couple in this story. Cole and Reyna are getting closer. Astra realized her own and Zane's love. Kai and Brisa talked. Their enemies are getting stronger while they get hung up on this love business. Seriously, their enemies WILL be stronger by now. But so will the ninja and kunoichi, when they get their weapons.**

 **I know there isn't much Lloyd right now, but that will happen when they search for the kunoichi of life.**

 **Hope you liked it!**


	22. Skydancer

****FOR REFERENCE, JAYLOR HAS BEEN RENAMED TO TYLOR BECAUSE KRR WANTS THAT****

 **I am sooooo sorry for the long wait. I'm sure any of you that like this story have been waiting a long time, so I am sorry about that. I kind of lost interest in it until recently, and I kept delaying and delaying, only writing like 100 words a day for the past week or so. But here's the next chapter! Hopefully I'll be able to update at least once more before my break ends.**

 **Hope you like it!**

* * *

Chapter 22: Skydancer

The team was headed to Coastal Plains again. Nya was struggling to steer the ship properly.

"Hey, Nya, have you seen my sunglasses?" Kai walked into the bridge, looking around. When his sister didn't reply, he looked at her and realized she was very intent on her job. "Uh, what's the matter?"

"There's a lot of wind around here in the Plains," she said through gritted teeth. "It's hard steering."

"Why don't you put it on auto-pilot?" Kai was no expert at steering flying ships or technology, but he assumed letting the Bounty do the work by itself was easier than someone doing the work for it.

"I shouldn't do that," she told him. "It has to work extra hard to keep the ship from crashing."

Kai didn't object, because he knew he didn't know enough about the topic to do so. "Well, uh, see you around, I guess…" he mumbled and walked off.

Within half an hour, the Bounty had landed about one kilometer away from the Edgeham. "Sensei, Misako, do either of you know where this Blade will be?" Nya asked the two teachers.

They looked at each other and came to a silent agreement. "Brisa, do you know of any legends around Edgeham?" Misako asked.

Brisa thought for a minute, but came up with nothing. "Not that I can recall."

"Nothing at all?" Wu asked anxiously. If the kunoichi of wind couldn't remember anything, they may be looking for it for a while…

Brisa thought for another moment, but this time, she remembered something. "Aha! There's a very windy valley a few kilometers away from here. Rarely anyone goes there. I think that might be where it is."

Misako nodded her head. "Great. Then that's where we'll head. Only the one that is destined for the Blade may hold it."

"And what happens if someone who isn't destined for it touches it?" Reyna asked nervously.

Misako shrugged. "Nothing, I hope."

"You HOPE?!" Jay asked with surprise.

Wu sighed. "Let us not worry about that. Brisa is sure to be the destined one. Nya, please set the course to where Brisa is saying it might be."

The kunoichi of water nodded. "Right. Brisa, where to?"

Brisa mumbled some stuff nobody heard, then gave her the directions. "I'm not entirely sure where it is, but the general direction is around here." The new kunoichi pointed some place northeast of where they were.

Nya nodded. "I'll steer it there. Try and see if you can find it from above." Brisa nodded. "That goes for any of you," the cyan kunoichi added.

"Uh…yeah…sure," her brother smiled quickly.

In seconds, they lifted off once again. The other ninja and kunoichi headed out on to the deck to see if they could find the valley Brisa was talking about. Wu and Misako walked off to Wu's room, probably to discuss matters.

Sure enough, within minutes, they saw the valley Brisa was talking about. It was hard to miss. The valley dipped down noticeably lower than the rest of the land around it, and the few trees down there were looked like they were going to be ripped right off their roots because of the wind.

"Uh, Nya can probably see that, right?" Lloyd asked, unsure if they should let the water kunoichi know they were almost there.

"I think she can see it," Cole replied.

In another few minutes, they had landed in the valley. Everybody got off the Bounty and looked around.

"Oh, great!" the lightning ninja complained. "There's nothing here. How are we supposed to find it?"

"Yeah, are we supposed to dig to find it?" Astra asked.

Misako shook her head. "Well, hopefully not. Brisa, is there any particular landmark in this valley that you know of?"

"Nope. Not that I know of."

Everybody's head went down. Suddenly, Zane shot back up. "Look! There's a little opening on that side of the valley!" Everybody looked into the distance the nindroid had pointed to, but nobody could see what he was really talking about.

"Uh, Zane? Are you okay?" the green ninja asked. "There's nothing down there."

Zane looked at his teammates' faces. "Oh, I assume my eyes can see farther than any of yours… There is an opening there, I can assure you that."

"Well, if Zane says it, that's good enough for me!" Kai smiled happily. He did not want to dig around to find a sword.

Wu nodded. "Let us go there, then." Everybody got back on the Bounty and they flew to that side. Sure enough, there was an opening there, like Zane had said.

"Do you think everybody needs to go?" Reyna asked when they were all about to get off. "Maybe some of us should stay here."

Wu approved. "Good idea. I will stay here."

One by one, a few of them volunteered to stay back. Jay, Kai, Nya, Brisa, Lloyd, and Misako would go to get the Blade. They jumped off, entered the opening, and walked straight to the back.

"There's no guardians here, right?" Jay asked. The others could tell he was a bit nervous after the Caves of Despair incident.

"No, I don't think so," Misako replied. "Just the fact that it will return to its Blade form only when the one meant to wield it touches it is likely enough security for it."

They reached the end of the opening where it was quite dark. "Kai, some fire?" Nya asked her brother.

Kai nodded in the darkness and used his hand as a light source. The ground looked like any desert because it was so dark in there it was hard for anything to grow. Towards the left of Kai's hand, there were some brick-like things arranged in a way that made it look like flower petals that looked very different from the rest of the ground.

"Could that be it?" the red ninja asked, pointing to the area.

"Uh, Kai, there's nothing there…" Brisa muttered.

"A little digging might be what we need," Misako said cheerfully. The others groaned.

"Let's just get this over with," the silver kunoichi sighed. She got down on her knees and began digging. Kai helped her.

"Uh, I guess Nya and I will be security," the blue ninja said in a tone that suggested he didn't want to help.

After some digging, a silver light was uncovered. "That must be it!" Misako cried out and alerted Jay and Nya. Sure enough, they had found some jewel-like thing.

Kai took out his hand. "I don't want to get zapped by that thing if I touch it." While he was right that he shouldn't touch it, maybe that zapping part was a bit off…

Brisa continued to dig it until she could uncover it fully. She pulled it out and held it in her hands.

"Why isn't it becoming a sword yet?" the green ninja asked with the impatience of Kai.

As if the jewel had heard him, it began shaping itself into a sword. It soon became a full sword. Brisa stood up and showed it to the others.

"Wow," Nya breathed. "That looks amazing!" The Elemental Blade of Wind went from a dark grey at the hilt to a shining bright white at the tip that illuminated their little cave.

 _Hello, stranger,_ a female voice said to Brisa. She peered around with a confused look.

"Did anyone say anything?" she asked.

 _No, it was me,_ it said again. This time she screamed and dropped the Blade. Everyone got scared for a moment. The voice was gone.

"Uh, everything okay, Brisa?" Lloyd asked cautiously.

Brisa didn't reply. She bent down slowly and picked up her Blade. _I am the one talking,_ the voice said again. She looked down at her Blade.

"The Blade…it talks…" she said almost as if she was enchanted. Now everybody was looking like she had gone crazy.

 _That's right. You figured it out at last,_ the Blade said. _My name is Skydancer. What's yours?_

Brisa stayed silent. She had no clue how to communicate with it, and she'd seem crazy if she said it out loud.

 _Don't worry, all you have to do is think it. You don't have to say it out loud,_ it informed her.

 _My name is Brisa,_ she told the Blade.

"Uh, Brisa?" Nya asked. "You okay?"

Brisa became alert again and was aware she was asked a question. "Yeah, like I said, the Blade talks. I told it my name because it asked."

Misako's eyes lit up. "That's fantastic! The Blade can talk? If this one can, I'm sure they all would be able to talk!"

"Does the _Blade_ have a name?" Jay asked, putting emphasis on the word 'blade'.

Brisa nodded. "It says its name is Skydancer."

"Skydancer? That's a pretty cool name!" Lloyd exclaimed.

"Yeah, hopefully they'll all be able to talk and have cool names!" Kai crowed.

 _Yes, they do,_ the Blade said in Brisa's head.

Brisa's eyebrows shot up. "The Blade said the other ones do have names too. And they can talk."

Kai looked like he had been blown back. "How does it know I said that?"

Brisa shrugged, but Lloyd answered. "It heard you. Duh." He rolled his eyes.

Misako looked at Lloyd and smiled. Oh, when would she tell him…

Suddenly, they heard yelling and deep voices from the entrance of this tunnel. Zane came running out of nowhere. "Everyone! Our enemies have come to the entrance of this tunnel to get the Blade! We're trapped!"

"Not unless we beat them!" Lloyd punched into his fist.

Another familiar face came running to where they were standing as well, along with some henchmen. "Palmer," the blue ninja spat.

He grinned. "Why hello there, Jay," he said in an almost robotic voice. "And Nya, I see."

The cyan kunoichi got ready to fight, but backed away a bit as well. She wasn't particularly fond of the guy.

Tylor also came running through. "I see another…guest that I didn't see the last time," he said, talking about Misako.

"L-last time?" the silver kunoichi asked nervously.

He tilted his head. "Why, yes, the last time we fought these fools."

"We beat you last time," the red ninja snarled. "We can do it again."

Now Zane came running back. "I would not advise of that, Kai. There is a third one of them."

Jay rolled his eyes in the dark. "Great, another one of them?!"

"Yes, which is why you should give that beautiful Blade to us, and we'll be on our way," Palmer told them as nicely as he could sound.

"Take it from us." Kai looked like he was ready to beat them up.

"Kai, this is not a good idea," Zane warned.

"What else can we do?" Nya shot back at the white ninja.

"You'd best listen to Zane," Tylor sneered. "You don't want to get hurt again, do you?"

"GAH!" Kai exploded. He burst into his Spinjitzu that illuminated the entire cave. Palmer, Tylor, and their lifeless zombies backed away a bit as the fiery tornado approached them. Brisa was also shocked, but didn't think it would be the right time to ask a question.

Eventually, Kai's Spinjitzu was stopped not by himself, but Palmer. Palmer raised his hand to punch, but he got pushed back by Zane. Then the henchmen attacked the two ninja. Lloyd and Jay, not wanting to stand around, burst into Spinjitzu as well. "NINJA GO!" they yelled and turned into their respective green and blue tornadoes. Palmer focused on Jay, and Tylor focused on Lloyd.

Palmer shot a stream of dark water at Jay, and the lightning ninja froze in his tracks. "Jay!" Nya cried out. She wouldn't watch her boyfriend get beat up by that bully. She jumped in to attack and kicked Palmer in the head, did a somersault in the air, and landed on her feet like a cat.

Jay still looked a bit wonky, but he was fine otherwise. "Man, that stuff's powerful. Thanks, Nya," he flashed her a grin she couldn't see.

Meanwhile, Misako, who didn't want to reveal her power, had no choice but to help out. "NINJA GO!" she shouted and even she ripped into Spinjitzu, a glittery, silver tornado that swallowed up the henchmen and spat them out against the narrow walls of the cave.

Everyone was shocked. "Wow, you know Spinjitzu!" the green ninja exclaimed. Then he got kicked back by Tylor.

"Focus, boy, or you won't survive me," he sneered.

Misako got angry. "He most certainly will not die!" she shouted as she jumped up and kicked him to the ground.

Tylor grunted. "Time to get a little more serious." He raised his hands up and a chunk of the ground came up. He threw it in no particular place, but Brisa had to leap out of the way to dodge it. The chunk of the ground beneath them shattered in a million directions, and managed to pierce all of them. "I'm only not killing you guys because I think all of you are worthy opponents…for now. When we reach the height of our power, you'll be nothing."

 _Come on, you stupid Blade, do something!_ Brisa screamed in her head, hoping Skydancer would hear.

 _That is not nice of you. I will only help if you answer this riddle-_

 _Now is not the time for riddles!_

 _Okay, okay, just ask me politely and I may help your friends._

 _Okay. Skydancer, can you please help them? They need your help._ Brisa pleaded. She felt silly talking to herself.

 _Hmmm, I don't know how to use myself. You'll have to give me a command, and I'll obey. Of course, assuming it's in my power,_ Skydancer replied.

 _I don't know how to do that! Just…make some small whirlwind or something!_

Without a reply from Skydancer, Brisa's arm extended out and blast of wind launched out from within the Blade. The wind sent Palmer, Tylor, and the henchmen flying back. That's not to mention that her own team members flew in all directions too.

The kunoichi of wind felt drained. She commanded one more blast of wind, and this time, the recoil from it pushed her against the back wall. Their enemies flew back farther.

The last thing Brisa could remember was hitting the cold, hard ground.

* * *

 **Yay, Brisa got her Elemental Blade! It also talks and has a name! Yeah, this was the cool stuff I was talking about. I think the names of each of the Blades are cool :) It may not be cool to you (yet, hopefully), but I'm pretty sure it'll get better. There'll be drama coming up soon, along with more Blades, kunoichi of life (which I'm sure that with this pattern you have guessed will be paired with Lloyd), kunoichi reaching true potential, and more that I don't think many other stories have done before.**

 **For those who read King Me!, I am updating that next, so stay tuned. Hopefully sometime within the next few days.**

 **Once again, so sorry for the two month wait for this chapter! Hope you liked it & was at least somewhat worth the wait!**

 **OH ALSO KAIROCKSRAINBOW/WHATEVER YOUR NAME IS NOW if you're still reading this story: please make a proper account (not guest) so I can directly PM or reply to your reviews without having to tell the whole world xD But if you don't want Tylor to be a villain...well, I don't really have another character in mind for him to play lol. Sorry about that.**


	23. Freeze Shock

**I'm back with another chapter! After this chapter, I'm just going to speed up the part of the kunoichi getting their Elemental Blades. It'll take way too long (and probably boring) the way I planned it, so I'll probably fit them all in the next chapter so the ninja can quickly get their Blades, the kunoichi of life arrives, and Misako tells Lloyd. There's still a ton after that, so this story won't be short.**

 **Hope you like it!**

* * *

Chapter 23: Freeze Shock

Everybody struggled to get up. Down near the entrance, they could hear some shouting and grunting. Kai vividly heard it, and he shot up, but in the darkness he noticed Brisa slumped against the wall. "Brisa!" he shouted weakly. He shook his head as if to bring himself back to the scene. He heard groaning and grunting from other people as well, friends and enemies alike, except those grey skinned zombie guys who never spoke a word.

The shouting at the entrance stopped. Kai stumbled over bodies that struggled to get up and tripped his way over there. He saw Cole, Reyna, and Sensei Wu all out of breath, sitting against the wall facing the outside sun. Zane appeared next to Kai.

"Zane! Why…why'd you leave us?!" Cole's anger was justified because the three of them had to take on a lot of grey zombie guys.

"Yeah…it was…hard beating them…" Reyna muttered, out of breath. They used too much energy, both Kai and Zane assumed.

Zane merely blinked at their anger and frustration. "I was only trying to warn the others about the threat we just faced."

Cole rolled his eyes. "I'm pretty sure they could've heard if they even tried to listen to the noise we were making…"

Suddenly, a man got up in a second. He had some weird red eyes that were hard not to notice and purple hair that looked like long (for a male) dreadlocks. "It isn't that easy to get rid of me…" he muttered almost to himself. Before anyone could react, he disappeared in the sunlight, with only his shadow to be seen. But when he entered the cave, they had no idea where he was. He happened to end up behind Kai and Zane and pushed them both down. He made himself visible again. "That blow of wind was…refreshing!" he said gleefully. Kai gritted his teeth, knowing he was referring to the wind blasted by Brisa's Blade, who was knocked out at the back.

Slowly, the other grey men began to stir and get up. Kai and Zane did the same. "If any of you three have energy," Kai said to Wu, Cole, and Reyna, "It'd be nice if you could help us."

Cole groaned angrily. "Here we go again…" Another fight broke out, but this one was much easier than the previous one because there were far less grey men. The Spinjitzu of the three ninja was enough to take care of all of them, but the red eyed man was still left.

The man straightened his back. "Haven't introduced myself yet. Name's Jarle. I know all your names, so don't bother."

"Um, guys, where is Astra?" the teal kunoichi asked.

The white ninja froze. He turned around and ran to the Bounty.

"Zane! Wait!" the black ninja yelled out.

Jarle snorted. "The robot is gone. Now what will you do?"

Kai and Cole looked at each other, and shrugged at Jarle. "I'm guessing your elements are Dark Ice and Dark Light?" Kai asked.

Jarle nodded modestly. "Yeah, luckily I'm not at the height of my power. If I was, my Dark Ice would crush you."

Reyna gulped. She didn't like the sound of that…

Meanwhile, Wu was trying to regain his energy when he saw a fight start…again. Kai lost patience and punched at Jarle, but he used his Dark Light powers to disappear and reappear behind him. He shoved Kai to the ground again. Cole used his own Earth powers to blast some rocks at him, but he stepped aside and pushed the earth ninja against the wall.

* * *

On the Bounty, Zane searched for Astra and found her sleeping on her bed. He made a sigh of relief. She was alright. He ran back outside to help his brothers and sisters. When he got back, he saw the red eyed man had practically pinned Cole and Kai to the ground. Reyna was trying to yank him off the two ninja, but she had no luck. "Get off my brothers!" the ice ninja's voice boomed. The man looked behind and saw Zane and smiled menacingly.

"Very well then, Zane," he said as he got off. Zane could tell the earth and fire ninja were able to breathe properly again. "My name is Jarle. This battle is between you and I now." Zane nodded at the challenge.

Zane charged from the windy outside to inside the crack and did a flying tackle on Jarle. The two fell on the rocky ground. Jarle struggled, but pushed the white ninja off of him. Cole and Kai quickly rolled out of their way.

Zane got up and so did Jarle. The nindroid was able to land a good kick on Jarle, but it only made Jarle angry. When Zane went in for a punch, it was intercepted. Jarle smiled viciously, and the ice ninja knew something was about to go wrong. In the darkness, Zane could begin to feel his insides go colder and colder, though he had no idea what was happening. Then he felt something sharp and let out a yelp of pain. He could vaguely see a dark colour on his arm that seemed to reflect a bit of light from outside: he knew instantly it was Dark Ice. Jarle let go of his hand. Zane's hand felt numb and paralyzed.

When Jarle saw the look of horror on Zane's face, he let out a loud laugh. "I'm not going to bother wasting any more energy on you kids. So long, suckers." He left and out of nowhere, Palmer and Tylor followed him, looking back and showing them a grin. They didn't take the Blade of Wind.

Wu managed to get up. He walked to the back and saw bodies everywhere. Everyone had crowded around Brisa.

"Let's get her inside," he heard Misako say. They called Kai and Cole, who lifted Brisa back to the Bounty. She was still knocked out. They placed her down in her bed so she could rest.

"She used too much of her own energy," Sensei Wu told everyone.

Kai had a confused look. "If she used the Blade's power, how did it drain her own?" The other ninja and kunoichi had the same question.

"Brisa was not ready to use such commands," Wu replied. "Much less using it twice. Even a simple command being spoken by an inexperienced person could use quite a bit of energy."

"So, let me get this straight," Nya said. "Brisa used a lot of her energy because she wasn't ready to order those whirlwind things? I still don't understand how it used HER energy, and not the Blade's."

"Maybe the Blade didn't have enough power because it was just uncovered after so long," Misako attempted to answer. "So it used Brisa's."

Wu nodded in agreement. "That could very well be possible. However, she must be very strong if she was able to use two consecutive commands with little training to be a kunoichi or the Blade itself." That made the others impressed. "Come now. We must decide our next course of action. Let us leave her alone."

Everyone left, but Zane looked towards the direction of the yellow kunoichi's bed. It was empty, which meant she was somewhere else on the Bounty. He met up with everyone in the bridge, and was surprised to see Astra there. "I saw you sleeping earlier. Is everything alright?"

"Everything is great." She sounded more cheerful than he had ever heard her sound. That sweet voice, it just made Zane feel like his insides melted…

"What happened to your arm?" Zane heard Misako's voice say.

Everyone turned and looked at it. When they saw it, they looked at it weirdly. "Jarle used his dark ice powers against me. I cannot move it. It feels numb."

"That is not good!" Wu cried out. "It must be removed immediately!"

"How do we do that?!" Lloyd asked him urgently. He sounded alert because of his uncle's tone.

Wu thought for a moment. "It can either be broken," he paused. "Or burnt."

Everyone was silent, but then Zane spoke up, because it was his arm. "Which one is quicker?"

More silence. "They would both take the same time, unless we use a lot of heat." At that, everyone looked to the ninja of fire, who gulped.

"Um, wouldn't it hurt?" he asked.

"Not less than breaking it, which would hurt Zane." Wu replied.

"They would both hurt," Misako put in, just in case it wasn't clear.

Kai looked at Zane. "Your choice, pal."

Zane thought for a moment. The fire might make him feel too hot, but breaking the ice would hurt him and possibly damage his circuits. But then again, he would have to suffer the heat for a relatively short time, but he had to make sure he didn't overheat. But his arm was numb anyways, so it probably wouldn't hurt…

The ninja of ice had a tough choice to make about his icy arm, and fast. He didn't want to take the risk of some open circuits. It wasn't a good idea. "I have made my decision. Kai, warm up your heater." He was referring to his hand.

The process was being overlooked by Sensei Wu, Misako, and Nya. The rest got to do whatever they wanted until it was complete. "Take your hand away when I say so, Kai," Zane said. "I don't want to overheat. We all know what could happen then." Nobody wanted to even imagine that.

Kai swallowed his nervousness and gave a smile. "Sure thing, Zane." And so, Kai used his fire to burn it, at first starting from afar until Zane told him to come closer. Soon, Zane could feel the heat on his arm, although body temperature seemed normal. Minutes later, he began warming up, so he turned on his inner fans to try and stay cool. It only delayed the inevitable. Heat got into him from everywhere and he could feel warm now.

"Kai, please stop, I feel warm so I think we should take a break," he told the red ninja.

Two hours later, it was over. The dark ice had completely melted, and Zane could move his arm freely, although it felt strange to him. Kai was exhausted and had to stop himself a few times to recover some energy. Zane drank water very often to try and stay as cool as he could. Nya had volunteered to cook dinner so the nindroid could fully recover.

* * *

At dinner, Brisa was feeling better, and the ninja reminisced of their adventures together. "Remember when Cole said he wasn't scared of anything, and then a dragon made him shake like he saw a ghost?" Jay blurted out.

Cole looked offended. "Hey, it's not like you guys weren't scared either!" he tried defending himself. Everyone laughed out.

However, Lloyd was beginning to feel lonely. He was laughing at whatever silly antics the ninja were doing, but deep down, he felt lonely. Isolated. His dad was missing, he didn't know who his mom was, no siblings, and no lover like the rest of the ninja had. Sure, he could consider the ninja and kunoichi as his brothers and sisters, but that was only figurative. He didn't have any real sibling, or someone who truly loved him. He was feeling…lonely, like he did in the days before he found the Serpentine.

After dinner was over, Wu headed outside to the deck of the Bounty. He found Misako looking out over the rail as they flew towards their next destination: the Lonely Cave, as they had decided when they were eating. He walked over to her. "We haven't gotten any time to catch up," Wu said. "How have the years gone by since we last saw each other?"

Misako sighed. "After I found out Lloyd was going to be the green ninja who would fight Garmadon, I left to research to see if I could prevent it. I didn't find a way to prevent it, as you know from what happened. I never saw him again until now. But, why is he older? I thought he would be much younger."

"Of course, I forgot to ever tell you that. You see, a Grundal attacked Ninjago City, if you may recall. The best way to defeat it was to use Tomorrow's Tea. Lloyd used the tea on the Grundal, and it was defeated, but he also aged in the process. That is why he is older than he should be."

Misako nodded her head. "I see now."

There was a long silence between them. "When are you going to tell Lloyd?" Wu asked her.

Misako had to think for a while about the answer to that. She didn't want him to never know, of course, but she thought she might want to get to know him a bit better before she revealed it. "After we find the kunoichi of life. I…think I should know him better than I do right now before I tell him."

* * *

 **I have nothing else to say here. Hope you liked it!**


	24. Blademania

**I'm back! Sorry for the wait. I was very busy for the past two weeks, so I was only able to write this week. And, as I'm sure you can tell, I have a new chapter. Chapter title is kind of meh, but whatever. My titles aren't usually that good anyway...**

 **Hope you like this!**

* * *

Chapter 24: Blademania

It was the start of a new morning. Jay woke up and headed to the bridge to see where they were. Surprisingly, he saw Nya there, at the steer. "Uh, why are you here?" he asked her. He sounded as if she wasn't allowed to be there.

Nya didn't turn around. "I'm steering the Bounty, silly!"

Jay's eyes opened up wide. "Wait, we haven't reached that cave yet?!"

She shook her head, still looking out. Then she turned around. "I just got here around 20 minutes ago. That's when we took off. I landed the Bounty somewhere during the night, remember?"

Jay shook his head for a no. "Why did you land it, though? Couldn't you auto-pilot?"

Nya laughed lightly. "Jay, it was too windy in the plains to risk auto-pilot! I landed the ship to be safe."

Jay sighed. "Oh well, whatever. We'll reach there at some point."

Nya nodded. "A couple more hours and we should be there."

Jay groaned. He waved and turned around. "Well, see you at training, I guess."

* * *

Training began in an hour. Everybody was there. All five ninja, all four kunoichi, and their two teachers. Wu did a quick headcount. "Let us start with a few stretches." He started off with some simple stretches, then did a few tougher ones. Everyone did it with ease, but both Wu and Misako noticed that Astra was struggling to keep up a bit…

"Good. Now the kunoichi will work on controlling their elements. Ninja, you five must do something more…physically active." Wu told them, the last part so the ninja don't go off to sleep or play video games.

To keep active, as their Sensei told them, the ninja decided to have some fake fights between each other. Meanwhile, the kunoichi were instructed by Wu and Misako to control their elements. Nya had gotten significantly better with controlling water, as she was able to make it do almost anything she wanted it to. However, she accidentally drenched Kai in the middle of his fake fight with Lloyd, which set everyone laughing at Kai's face.

Reyna was able to communicate with plants a lot quicker than before, and when she asked Wu how long it would be until she could grow vines out of nowhere, he replied, "When you get your Elemental Blade, and then when you learn to control that."

Astra did fairly well manipulating the light. She was able to concentrate it into a ball and launch it, but it didn't exactly seem strong, so it fluttered and eventually disappeared. However, she did a lot better when it came to bending the light in different directions, as she used the sun's rays and changed its direction many times.

Finally, Brisa was told to put her Blade aside, which Skydancer said it didn't like. Regardless, Brisa put it inside, just to make sure the Bounty doesn't tilt and the Blade fell. She was told to concentrate, and everyone else was silenced so she could do so. It took her a long time because her mind was always running around. Wu and Misako instructed her to try and make small puffs of air. The key was to take the air around her and make it "dense" in her hands, and then release it. She tried for a long time, but she didn't feel like she was "grabbing" any air with her hands. She gave up after a while of trying.

Brisa sighed. "I couldn't 'feel' anything like you said I would."

"That is completely alright," Misako told her with a smile. "You won't be able to do everything during your first training sessions."

Nya looked over the ship rail to see if they were getting closer, and she saw a small little island in the distance. She could guess the Bounty would fit on it without much trouble, but she'd have to check in the bridge to make sure. "Sensei, we'll be reaching there shortly, so I'll go in and steer the ship to the cave."

Wu nodded at her decision. "Very well then. You are dismissed."

Nya bowed out of courtesy. Then she walked inside.

Quicker than expected, they arrived at the island with the cave on it.

"Well, it won't be hard to find the Elemental Blade of Water here," Cole mused over the fact that the island was small enough for the cave to be completely visible.

"Um, does anyone else notice it's in the middle of nowhere?" Jay asked almost as if he were scared of the fact. They were, of course, surrounded by water.

Reyna rolled her eyes. "Duh. That's why it's called the Lonely Cave, you know?"

They walked over to the entrance of the cave, and even before they reached, the ground was starting to get mushy from the water nearby. Their feet were wet even before the entrance.

"The water seems to rise here at the entrance, and continues rising into the cave." Zane informed everyone. "I am estimating close to waist height water levels towards the end of the cave."

Everyone got a picture of what that would be like. "Well, I have to go," the cyan kunoichi broke the silence. "And some people have to stay back."

"Uh, I'll stay out of this," her brother quickly said and jumped back next to Brisa.

Nya looked at her boyfriend. He shrugged. "Eh. I'll go with you, I suppose." The kunoichi of water smiled gratefully at him for that.

"I would like to go as well," Misako volunteered.

In the end, Nya, Jay, Lloyd, Astra, and Misako all went inside the cave. They heard a lot of splashing as they walked through the water, which, as Zane estimated, was near waist level at the end.

"Zane!" Astra's voice could be heard through the echoes from inside. "We need your help!"

The white ninja looked at everyone else, but they all shrugged. Sensei Wu told him to go inside. He also splashed through, and at the end, he found out they would need him to go underwater and dig until he could find it. Everyone was surprised that Astra already knew he was a robot, so they hesitated to tell her at first.

After a while by himself, then with some help from his friends, they were able to find a bright, shining, cerulean stone-like thing. Nya pulled it out. After a few seconds, it transformed into the marvellous Blade of Water. It lit up the cave with a brilliant blue light. The Elemental Blade of Water was a very light blue at the tip, almost white, down to a deep navy blue at the hilt of the sword. Nya was prepared for it to talk to her, unlike Brisa, who got a big surprise.

 _Hello, stranger,_ it spoke to her, starting off the same way Brisa's Blade had done.

 _Um, hi?_ the cyan kunoichi replied back, feeling silly to talk to herself. _My name is Nya._

 _Well, nice to meet you, Nya,_ it replied back. _My name is Hydroslasher, and I am the Elemental Blade of Water, as I'm sure you know._

"Did the Blade say anything?" Lloyd asked.

The cyan kunoichi nodded. "It said its name is Hydroslasher."

"The water levels are rising quite quickly!" the ice ninja cried out. "We should get out of here quickly as well."

Everyone scrambled for the exit to the cave. The tide seemed to be rising, and was trying to push them back ever so slightly. However, they made it out with the water at the entrance being close to knee deep.

When the other saw the Blade of Water, they were awestruck because of how it looked. The colours were obviously the best part of it.

"Well, now that that's done, we better get going," the black ninja said.

"Hold on!" the teal kunoichi cried out in response. "What's its name?"

"Hydroslasher," the wielder of the Blade replied quite happily.

Reyna thought to herself and considered a passable name. Not as good as she would've thought, but it was fine.

They all headed to the Bounty as a group. The next stop: somewhere near the Akra Forest, near Reyna's hometown.

* * *

Misako found herself wandering the Bounty, looking for Lloyd. She checked their living room first, and sure enough, she found the green ninja playing some mindless game on the tv. She shook her head. _Kids these days…_

"Hello, Lloyd," she said, trying to sound as casual as he could. He barely looked up, so she decided to sit down next to him.

He jolted suddenly. "Oh, uh, hi, Misako?" He sounded confused as to what to call her, but went back to playing the game.

Misako smiled. "You can call me…Misako," she said hesitantly. She was about to say _mom_.

Lloyd smiled and looked at her, then went back to looking at the screen. Misako looked at it as well to find out what was so interesting about the game to the ninja, and even the kunoichi sometimes, but all she saw was a character that was supposed to look like Lloyd running around in almost slow motion chopping up the Skulkin Army.

"What game is this?" she asked to get a conversation.

"Fist to Face 2." He looked intent in the game.

"What is, um, the objective of the game?"

"Just…try to get a good score by killing as many of these skeletons without dying."

Misako shrugged. She found it to be similar to many other games out there. Not that she's played any, but she assumed there were a lot of games out there like this one. But this game appealed to the ninja more because it had them in it.

A few hours later, it was dinner time, and the Bounty had landed at the outskirts of the forest, but they didn't know where to go after. It was also dark, and it wasn't a good idea to go into an alien forest in the night.

"Reyna, do you know of any legends of this forest?" Wu asked the teal kunoichi like he had to Brisa the day before. "Anything that may give us a hint of where the Elemental Blade of Nature could be?"

Reyna shrugged with her mouth full. When it cleared, she spoke up. "There's probably something in the middle of the forest, but I've never heard of anything of the sort. If it's supposed to be around here, it's probably in the middle."

Everyone took that as a possible option. If it was meant to be here, what better place than in the middle of a forest?

Wu nodded. "Then we will go into the forest tomorrow morning."

There wasn't anything left on the next day's plan, so they talked general stuff. "I don't know much about being a ninja," Misako was saying, "so could any of you tell me what it's like to be one?"

Kai was the first to reply, being the boastful person he is. "It's kind of hard at first, learning the ropes and stuff, but then it feels awesome to be so recognized…and feared." The words after his dramatic pause referred to their enemies, or so he thought…

But Zane shook his head. "I disagree. Everywhere I go, I am constantly troubled by young females. Just to get our weekly needs, I have to endure the looks of so many people, some who think I am a boy pretending to be a ninja, and others are looks of admiration."

Cole burst out laughing, hoping the nindroid had his funny switch turned on.

Misako smiled and turned to Lloyd. "Lloyd? What's it like being the greatest hero of Ninjago?"

Lloyd shrugged, twirling his fork around in his plate. "Like Zane said, there's too many girls that come after us. It gets annoying. Sometimes they're the same ones over and over!"

* * *

The next morning, everyone woke up early to prepare for the journey into the forest. Both Wu and Misako had decided to go, along with Reyna (obviously), Cole, Kai, and Brisa. The rest would stay on the ship to watch over.

The group went into the forest. "I swear, if it's not here…" Kai muttered as he looked around at his surroundings. The trees were very different from the trees they see back in Ninjago City.

"You swear what?" Brisa jumped right beside him with Skydancer in her hand.

 _Then your boyfriend will burn the forest down,_ the Blade joked.

 _Hey, that's not nice! Burning trees isn't good! And he's not my boyfriend!_

 _Yet. He is not your boyfriend yet. I know what you think. I am in your mind, after all._

Brisa blushed, but luckily it was dark enough so nobody could see. After much walking, they reached the middle of the forest. Oddly enough, there was a cave there.

Reyna entered first, followed by everyone else. Inside, they got the Elemental Blade of Nature quickly. It was under some vines that sprouted out from the ground. They dug it out, and out came a beautiful shining green stone. It transformed into the Blade of Nature in the kunoichi of nature's hands. It started at a dim yellow, close to green, at the tip of the Blade, and gradually becoming green. At the hilt, it was a deep green that shone brilliantly.

 _Hi there,_ the Blade told Reyna. _My name is Vinewhipper. What's yours?_

 _My name is Reyna,_ she replied back to it.

They returned to the Bounty well before lunch, and they were expecting to reach at that time. However, the forest was smaller than they expected.

"Now we go to the Desert Pyramid, right?" Astra asked when they were all in the bridge of the Bounty.

Wu shook his head. "I do not think it is there, but somewhere nearby."

But Misako had to correct him. "There is another entrance to the Desert Pyramid, one that I had to go through a while back. I'm sure that entrance will lead us to the Elemental Blade of Light."

This time, Wu shrugged his shoulders. "I know not where it is, but we will try what you say, Misako." The old time friends smiled at each other.

 _So, what powers do you have?_ Reyna asked her Blade after lunch.

 _Uh, I don't know. I haven't been wielded in forever._

 _There was someone else before me?_

 _Sure was._

 _Who was it?_

 _I don't remember!_ it "yelled" at the teal kunoichi.

 _Ugh, useless…_ Reyna said in her mind.

 _You know I can hear you, right?_ it said in a teasingly manner.

Oh, the problems of having an awesomely powerful Blade that shares your mind…

 _I heard that too._

* * *

 **Sooooo yeah that's it. I didn't get to add Astra getting her Blade because I added the training and stuff at the beginning, so that'll be first thing next chapter.**

 **Hope you liked it!**


	25. Light Problems

**I'm back! This chapter seems pretty interesting to me. I like it. The next chapters will focus more on the kunoichi's flaw that holds them back from their True Potential. I have all the flaws in mind, but it might be a bit challenging to incorporate some into the story without going completely out of my way.**

 **I also found out a few days ago there was a new Ninjago season. I watched all the episodes that are out so far. It's pretty good, I like the idea with the wishes and stuff.**

 **By the way, I'm finding it hard to include some Lloyd and Misako conversations. Pretty sure all of you know where it will eventually lead to if you have ANY idea of their relationship in the show. Any ideas on how to do this?**

 **Anyways, hope you like this chapter!**

 **Edit: there was a mistake of the Blade's name. It's Rayseeker. I fixed that.**

* * *

Chapter 25: Light Problems

The Bounty was in motion, ready to reach the Desert Pyramid within the hour. Zane worried for Astra. He could tell her condition was going down again, and he wanted to know if she would be able to go get her Blade. He decided to go ask her because the other kunoichi were working on controlling their elements.

"Astra," he knocked lightly on her door. Surprisingly, she opened the door, looking fine. "Weren't you not feeling well?"

She shrugged. "A nap helped. What happened? What brings you here?"

"I wanted to know if you were going to get your Blade," he blurted out.

The yellow kunoichi narrowed her eyes. "Of course I am!" she exclaimed. "I'm not going to miss that!"

The white ninja shrugged as well. "Suit yourself. I am definitely coming along with you."

As expected, they landed at the Desert Pyramid within an hour. Everyone on the bridge. The wind was fierce outside, and they didn't want to risk getting sand blown in their eyes.

"Where is that entrance Misako was talking about?" Nya asked.

Wu shook his head. "First, we will decide who will go and who will stay." He looked around, but nobody really volunteered.

Lloyd looked around as well, but since nobody volunteered, he decided to go. "I'll go with them," he said.

Wu nodded. "You know the traps of the Pyramid. There might be repeats."

"T-traps?" Astra quivered.

"Yes, there are traps in there," Misako informed everyone. "I will go as well because I have been in there once."

Cole and Reyna also went with them. The six of them headed out into the wind and got blown around. It was that powerful. Misako led them to the other entrance, which was at the back. It took some time finding it, but eventually, they got in.

Once they were in, Misako gave them a quick briefing. "Now, there are traps, like I mentioned on the Bounty. The first one will be arrows shooting out of the walls. That is dangerous with so many of us, so to counter it, Zane, would you be able to freeze the wall?"

Zane nodded. "I can try, but do not rely on me fully. My elemental power is not as strong as it once was."

Misako nodded. "That's the most we can do about the arrows."

"Doesn't the floor also break somewhere?" Lloyd asked.

Misako nodded. "But that is in the tunnel I went in. There's another tunnel, the left side. That's the one we want to go into."

"So this path splits into two paths?" the black ninja asked. Misako nodded in answer.

Zane used his robot powers to see what was ahead. "Yes, there are two paths. Are you sure we need to take the one on the left?" he asked Misako.

She nodded. "Last time, I went on the right side, and nothing was there. Anyways, let's get going. The sooner we move, the sooner we'll be out."

They walked through, slowly. There was enough light to see what was up ahead.

"This is dangerous," Reyna observed obviously.

They took more steps, and the first arrow zoomed right in front of Misako, their lead. She signalled to Zane to freeze the wall. He did so, but not the entire thing.

"Wow, your ice powers _are_ a lot weaker," Cole observed too.

Zane only looked slightly annoyed. "I do not have a weapon that boosts my power. Neither do you, so your earth powers would be weaker as well."

Slowly yet steadily, they made their way to where the Blade would be. There were no markings on the floor. Absolutely none. This made them think it would be in the wall.

"Wow, there are lots of markings here!" Misako sounded fascinated. There were pictures of fights from long, long ago. There were pictures of the Overlord, of writings in a different language, and the Elemental Blade of Light. Cole leaned against the wall, and felt something move behind him. Then, something pushed him forward. He saw a gleaming yellow stone. "Uh, I think this is it."

Everyone looked towards him, and saw the yellow stone. "How'd you find that?" the green ninja asked him.

"Classic 'secret trigger in the wall' kind of thing." He flashed a smile at them.

Lloyd rolled his eyes. "Wow. I couldn't think of anything more original!"

They chuckled at his sarcasm, but Astra went up and held the stone. Within moments, it transformed into the bright Elemental Blade of Light.

"True to its name," the ice ninja remarked. "It is very bright."

He was, of course, correct. The Blade let off a glow that none of the other Blades so far could even come close to rivaling. The Blade started off bright white at the top, all the way to a very bright orange at the hilt. In the relative darkness of the room they were in, it was practically a light source of its own.

Even though Astra knew it was coming, it still scared her. _Thank you for uncovering me,_ a feminine voice said inside her head. _It's horrible being locked like that for so long, with no one to talk to. My name is Rayseeker. How about yours?_

This must be a talkative Blade, the opposite of her…

 _My name is Astra,_ she replied to the Blade.

 _Oh, Astra! What a nice name! I haven't ever known an Astra before. What does it mean? Where does it originate? Am I annoying you?_

Astra laughed out loud, leaving the others confused as to what was so funny. _Yes, kind of annoying._

 _Don't worry, Astra. It's only first day orientation. I'll be less annoying in the days to come._ The Blade paused. _Hm, maybe days to come won't be very necessary…_ Astra froze. Had it done some sort of health scan on her? How does it know how many days she has left? She felt fine right then.

 _Yes, I did a scan. It is mandatory for me to do so._

"Astra," Zane broke her out of her conversation. "We need to get back soon. But first, what is its name?"

"Um, Rayseeker," she replied. She didn't know what the others were saying after that. She was too scared to listen, and thought of what Rayseeker had told her.

 _Hey, don't be so down!_ it told her to get her out of her glumness. _Enjoy what you have left while you can!_

 _But…_ "I want to help them before that happens!" she yelled out loud instead of in her mind. It went echoing all throughout the Pyramid. Everyone froze and looked at her. Astra covered her mouth. Misako went to say something, but she dashed off with tears in her eyes before she could say a word.

"Astra! Wait!" Misako called after her. Her yells were of no use. Astra darted out of the Pyramid as fast as her element.

The green ninja looked at Misako. "Now what?"

She sighed. "Well, we continue to go back, of course. We got what we came for."

After what happened, they walked the rest of the way in silence. The wind had died down a bit when they got out, so the sand was nowhere near as annoying as it was when they went in.

Wu greeted Misako when he saw her. "What happened inside the Pyramid? Astra came running back, and she did not even look up to see me."

Misako sighed and shrugged at the same time. "Inside, she said something like she wants to help us before something happens. We don't know what the something is, but she ran out crying before we could say anything more. Where is she now?"

"In the kunoichi's room," he answered.

"Then let us go there," Misako said. "We should talk to her."

However, when they got to the room, they could already hear a voice inside: Reyna.

"Hey, uh, Astra, what did you mean back in the Pyramid?" The teal kunoichi knew it must've been a sensitive or touchy topic considering the way Astra had reacted to it, but she had to know. It would do none of them any good if they didn't understand her problem.

"Nothing," she mumbled back in response. "Just…don't worry about that." Her voice was muffled because she was face down on her bed.

Wu and Misako, hearing this, decided not to enter. Let them talk first, they silently decided, and began to walk away.

"Astra, I want to help you. If I knew what the problem is, maybe I could help you." Reyna continued to persist.

"Just leave me alone, please." Astra's voice rose a tone louder.

"We're in this together, we have to-"

"Reyna! Just leave me alone! I want some time to think by myself!" she yelled furiously, and this time, she took her face off her pillow so the kunoichi of nature clearly heard what she said. She was very shocked by the sudden outburst. She had never heard Astra as angry and talk as loud as this before.

"Alright then," Reyna said, defeated. She slunk back and headed out the door. Wu and Misako, hearing the yell even from a distance, knew there was something wrong, and they needed to find out.

Instead, they headed to the bridge. They found a lot of the ninja and kunoichi there.

"Nya," Wu called out to the kunoichi of water. "Could you bring up the map on the screen, please?"

She nodded. She pressed a few buttons, and a map of Ninjago showed up, with a big red dot showing where they were. "Yes, Sensei?" The noise of the others quieted down once they realized their two teachers were in the room.

"Now that we have gotten all the Elemental Blades for the kunoichi," he spoke and saw a glum Reyna enter the bridge, "It is time for us to find the Elemental Blades for the ninja."

Jay looked so happy, and his eyes widened. "Finally! My powers will be increased!"

"But to get the Blades," Wu continued, "We need to go to the Island of Darkness, to the Temple of Light."

Everyone groaned and started murmuring amongst each other. "At least this time there won't be any Overlord or Stone Warriors there, right?" Kai asked when the room quieted again.

Wu shook his head. "Of course not. We defeated those already."

"I have a weird feeling about going back to that island again." Nya shivered at her memories of being turned evil.

"Um, what's this Island of Darkness?" Brisa asked.

"The Island of Darkness, or the Dark Island, is where the First Spinjitzu Master and the Overlord fought long ago," Misako answered. "It was a part of Ninjago at one point, but the First Spinjitzu Master used the four Golden Weapons to split it from the rest of Ninjago when he could no longer keep up the fight. The Overlord and his Stone Army were on that side, and it came to be known as the Island of Darkness."

"Well, if that's where we have to go to get out powers stronger," Kai said, "Count me in."

Wu and Misako chuckled. "We have to go there anyways," Wu told the red ninja. "We did not have a choice." To Nya, he said, "Nya, please set our course to the Dark Island. I would like to reach as soon as possible."

The cyan kunoichi nodded. "Right."

"The rest of you can train until dinner time," Wu told the others.

While the others were training, Misako decided to watch and guide the two kunoichi there to control their Blades.

"Where's Astra?" Brisa asked suddenly. "I get that Nya is piloting the ship, but she should be here, right? After all, she just got her Blade."

"She's, uh, not feeling well, and wanted to sleep," Misako blurted out quickly. Brisa could accept that as an answer.

* * *

In the kunoichi's room, Astra still lay on her bed, but now face-up. _I want to help them, I really do. But do I have the strength and energy to become the kunoichi of light? They say I'm a kunoichi, one of them, but I don't think these clothes are enough to make me one. I can't even control my element properly!_

 _Hey, can you cut it down?_ Rayseeker asked her. _I would like to think on my own as well, and I don't need your constant thoughts running a train through mine._

 _Then I will just set you aside and not hold you in my hand,_ she said, and placed her Blade on the floor.

 _I have to help them! They depend on me, and I also depend on them! It's my destiny to do this! But…I'll die soon, and Rayseeker even told me that. How can I be of any help when I won't even be with them all the way?_

A knock on the door interrupted her thoughts. "Astra? May I come in?"

Astra could feel her heart beat faster. _Sensei Wu? What's he doing here?_ "Uh, yeah, sure, come in, Sensei."

He opened the door, and closed it behind him. He smiled at her with his eyes closed. "Astra, Misako told me what happened in the Pyramid. I…we both would like to help you if we can. Please, tell me what the matter is. We heard you yell at Reyna in anger when she came in the room. We had wanted to talk to you then, but hearing Reyna in here already, we walked away, but we still heard your yell. Tell me what the problem is. We would like to help you."

Astra gritted her teeth, but her Sensei patiently waited for her. _I have to tell him…it'll help._ "Well, you see, it all started like this…"

* * *

 **Astra FINALLY decided to tell someone else of her problem. Of course, that is (mostly) a physical problem. The mental problem is different as I'm sure a lot of you may have noticed in the beginning when Astra first joined the team (and before that, in her house).**

 **The ninja will also get their Blades, with names, of course. These Blades that the ninja and kunoichi are getting have a history coming with them, as I'm sure you may have picked up in last chapter's conversation between Reyna and Vinewhipper at the very end. This history is important, and will come back when the time comes and will actually play a big role in making them all more powerful.**

 **Anyways, hope you liked it!**


	26. The Temple of Light

**Wooooow so I wasn't expecting to update so fast considering I updated my last chapter of King Me! just yesterday and wrote this all today. But, the sooner the better, I suppose.**

 **This chapter isn't even focusing a whole lot on the Temple of Light. You'll find the latter half of the chapter on it, the rest is other stuff I don't want to spoil here.**

 **Just wanted to say that King Me! is on hold permanently (no more chapters) until this story is done, so I will have my full attention fixed on this.**

 **Hope you like it!**

* * *

Chapter 26: The Temple of Light

The Bounty had been in motion for several hours, and they had just reached the Endless Ocean. The journey to the Dark Island once again would be a long one.

Lloyd was out on the deck, enjoying the fresh air, away from the humid and sandy air of the desert or the polluted air of Ninjago City. Their training ended early after Nya stormed off inside after she couldn't do what Sensei Wu had told her she should try for: controlling larger amounts of water. The other three kunoichi got through their training, but it was stopped after that was finished.

Lloyd heard footsteps behind him. He turned around to see who it was. "Oh, hey Kai. What's up?"

He gave a small smile. "Enjoying the fresh air, like you. I got a mild headache inside, so maybe some air might help."

Lloyd nodded slightly. He saw Brisa creeping up behind Kai, and she put a finger to her mouth to signal to Lloyd as to tell him "don't tell Kai!" Kai, seeing Lloyd's eyes looking behind him, had the feeling something was going to happen. So, at the same time Brisa was just about to scare the red ninja, he turned around and scared her.

"Ha!" Kai said while laughing. "I caught you this time!"

"Aw! No fair!" she pouted. The silver kunoichi crossed her arms. "How'd you know I was coming?"

"Well, I didn't know who was coming, but," Kai turned back to Lloyd. "Sometimes your eyes give away a lot."

The green ninja chuckled. "Sorry, Brisa. I ruined your surprise. Although, props to you, Kai, for turning around at the right time and scaring her instead." Lloyd let out a laugh.

"So what's this Temple of Light?" the wind kunoichi asked the two. "Have you been there before?"

Lloyd shook his head. "Never been to the temple, but we have been on the island. Right Kai?"

The fire ninja nodded. "Your guess is as good as ours. We've never been there, so we don't know what it looks like."

"The Temple of Light has the destinies of each one of you inside it," another voice said. Kai and Brisa turned around and found out it was Misako.

"Our…destinies?" Brisa asked hesitantly.

"No way," Kai scoffed. "That's not possible!"

Misako pushed her glasses up. "Yes, it does. I am almost certain of it. The scrolls say the Temple of Light has the destinies of each chosen one shown on the walls in pictures."

"So that includes what we're _going_ to do?" Lloyd exclaimed. He would love to see the future.

Misako chuckled lightly. "I shouldn't have said destiny. A better way to phrase it is everything you've done so far would be on the walls of the temple."

"Oh." Lloyd was disappointed.

"That's so cool!" Brisa practically shouted. "I mean, it's amazing how it would be on its walls when we've never been there to draw it ourselves! Is there someone who knows everything we do and draws it themselves?"

Misako shrugged. "About that, I don't know the answer. I have never found out how it happens, but it would certainly be fascinating to know."

* * *

Inside the kitchen, Zane sat next to Astra. "You told Sensei about your condition?" he asked. She nodded.

"He wanted to help, and he said Misako also did. If they are my teachers, I should trust them enough for them to help me."

Zane smiled at her. "Good. I am glad you did that. The more people that know, the more that can help."

The thing that Rayseeker had told her still haunted Astra. She figured she should tell Zane. "Zane." The nindroid looked into her eyes. "The day I got Rayseeker, it told me each Blade does a scan of its holder's body. It told me I didn't have much more time left…" Astra lowered her eyes, sad that her life isn't much longer.

Zane, meanwhile, was frozen on the outside, but on the inside he was panicking. "No! The problems of being a robot!" he shouted out all of a sudden.

Astra was confused. "What?"

"I have always been thinking of what will happen to me," he confessed. These were his innermost thoughts he was sharing with the one he loved. "Since I am a robot, I cannot die, not like a human. I am also advanced considering the time I was made, when robots were very rare, if they existed at all back then. But, if I do not die, that means I will watch the ones I love die first. I do not age, either, so I will always remain young, while you and my brothers and sisters will all get older."

Astra smiled at the white ninja. He was really a nice guy, she knew. "Zane, no matter how old I get and how young you look, I…I'll always like you." The yellow kunoichi blushed at having revealed her feelings.

Zane, on the other hand, was surprised. "But I thought you said you did not care for love because you knew you wouldn't live long enough to live through it."

"Things change, Zane," Astra gave him his answer. "I thought about it a lot. I even denied it a lot. But you're a good person…or robot, whatever. I don't care who or what you are. It's your personality that matters."

Now Zane's insides began to heat up, so he turned on his internal fans. "That is very kind of you, Astra. I am glad our feelings are now mutual." The two just sat there and smiled at each other.

Meanwhile, at the door, Cole was standing and watching them smile at each other like idiots. "Come on, get out already! I want to eat! I don't want to walk in on you guys like that, so do us both a favour and get out!" he complained to himself. Of course, the new couple didn't hear, so he was forced to wait to enter the kitchen…

* * *

Back outside the Bounty, Kai and Brisa had left, leaving Lloyd and Misako alone. The scholar walked up to the rail to enjoy the scenery as well.

She took a deep breath in. "This air is so much nicer than back at Ninjago City, right?"

Lloyd nodded. "Even though it smells a bit salty, it's still better."

Misako turned and back and tried looking for the Dark Island in the distance, but it was still terribly far. "I found out from Wu that your father has gone missing. I'm sorry to hear that."

Lloyd shrugged to make it seem like it was nothing, but she knew on the inside he was sad. "I didn't really know him well anyways. He was always…busy."

"It's sad that he was evil, and that his own son had to fight him. How were you able to do that?" she asked with genuine curiosity. She would find it immensely difficult to attack her own father, even if she knew he was evil.

Another shrug. "I didn't want to fight him and neither did he, but we both knew it was our destiny to do so. I guess…destiny got the best of me."

"And your mother? Where is she?"

Lloyd's face darkened at the question. "I don't know. She abandoned me after I was born. I don't even know who she is."

Misako felt really guilty for leaving him all alone all these years. It sounded like he hated his mother, even when he didn't know her. She wanted to tell him so bad, but she couldn't bring herself to do it. Not right now. Maybe after they get their Blades. They would need Lloyd, and if he was angry, he wouldn't go inside the Temple and the ninja wouldn't get their Blades.

Hours later, it was evening, close to dinner time, when they reached the Temple of Light. Nya had just landed and called everyone to the bridge.

"Hello everyone, I am your pilot Nya, and welcome to the Temple of Light on the Dark Island!" The cyan kunoichi got some fake cheers from Jay, Kai, Cole, and the three kunoichi. "So, what's the plan?"

"Wu and I have thought of this in the past few hours," Misako started off. "And we agreed that the five ninja will go. Nobody else."

"Wait, what?" Cole protested. "How do we know how to get them?"

"That I will tell you," Misako said. "When you get inside the Temple, you will have to arrange yourselves in the right positions. Lloyd will have to find and ring the instrument of peace. Then, you will get your Elemental Blades."

Lloyd was confused. "Wait, how do I find this instrument of peace?"

"You will know when you see it," Wu answered for him.

Lloyd sighed and shook his head. He had no idea what they were saying.

"Let's just get going. That way, we can come back faster." Kai said. The others agreed. They walked out to the deck and jumped off the Bounty.

"Woah, this place really is the Temple of Light!" Jay exclaimed. Two huge blue lights were at the top of the building.

"I guess it could also mean light as in hope. This is a lot of hope for us," Zane added.

They entered the Temple. "This place is…pretty small," the black ninja observed.

"Guys! Over there!" Lloyd pointed at a wall.

"It's like Misako said!" the red ninja exclaimed. "It would have everything we've done together as ninja on the wall in picture form."

"That's us fighting the Great Devourer!" the blue ninja exclaimed in awe. "This is so cool!"

"And…even us right now!" the white ninja pointed at the most recent picture. Sure enough, it was the five ninja looking at the wall in the picture.

"It's destiny, like Misako said!" the green ninja was excited too now. Then he noticed a picture. It showed a picture of where each of the four elemental ninja should stand, and then the green ninja in the middle. The four ninja at the sides would then give their power to the green ninja in the center. "Alright guys. Let's do what that picture says."

Lloyd went to the center and uncovered the dust to find the picture of a golden dragon. The others, having an idea what to do, went to the positions they should be in and uncovered pictures of dragons of their own colours.

"Now what is that instrument of peace?" the nindroid asked.

"You should be the one to the answer of that!" Cole jokingly yelled at him.

Lloyd looked up and saw a giant bell. "Could that be it?"

"It's an instrument," Jay told him. "It's probably right."

"You guys ready?" Lloyd asked the others. They all nodded. "Let's do this!" He ran at a pillar and jumped, then jumped off the pillar and kicked the bell. It rung out loud, and Lloyd fell back to his spot. Green light shone onto him and it made him levitate and spin around in the air. The green light reflected off some crystals, then went into the pillar next to Kai. In Kai's hand appeared a Blade. It did the same for Cole, Jay, and Zane and gave them all Blades.

Meanwhile, Lloyd was still levitating in the air. After a few more seconds, he came back down and landed on his feet. The ninja all got together as they headed out and looked at their new weapons:

Kai had a fiery Blade that went from red at the hilt to an orange at the tip.

Jay had an electrical Blade that went yellow at the hilt to a blue at the tip.

Zane had an icy Blade that went from grey at the hilt to white at the tip.

Cole had a rocky Blade that went from purple at the hilt to green at the tip.

Lloyd whistled, clearly impressed. "Those are some cool Blades. Did they say their names?"

Kai nodded. "My Blade said its name is Flameleaper."

Jay nodded as well. "My Blade's name is Voltstriker."

"My Blade's name is Frostbiter," Zane informed them.

"And my Blade's name is Quakesmasher," Cole said.

The green ninja had a disgusted face on. "You guys get these, and what did I get?"

"Yeah, what _did_ you get?" the blue ninja asked curiously.

"I think…" Lloyd hesitated. He wasn't entirely sure. "I think it was enhanced power. Now I can actually create, I think."

They went back on the Bounty, and the ninja answered the same questions Lloyd asked them, like the Blade's name. They were all happy.

"We're happy that you now have proper weapons and enhanced powers," Misako told them, and everyone could tell she meant it.

 _Good,_ Wu thought to himself. _One step done. Now the next: finding the kunoichi of life._

"So, what's the next course of action?" Nya asked anxiously. Being the pilot of the ship and all, she had to know what she was required to do.

"I was just thinking of that," Wu said. "Let us figure out how we will find the kunoichi of life."

Everyone looked at Lloyd. Kai smiled at the green ninja. "Whoever he finds attractive is probably the kunoichi of life. I mean, that's not even far-fetched, is it?"

Everyone except Lloyd laughed. "But everyone finds me attractive!"

Kai laughed again. "I said who you find attractive, not the other way around."

Lloyd shrugged. "Whatever. Where would she even be?"

"I'm one step ahead of ya on that," Nya revealed. She threw four darts at the map on the screen. "These four here are where we, the kunoichi, found our Blades. Take this one away here," Nya pointed to the Lonely Cave, and she took it off, "Then the middle of this triangle thing is Ninjago City. Considering the kunoichi of life is to us what Lloyd is to the ninja, meaning the center, I think Ninjago City is where we'd find her."

Everyone seemed impressed. "That is plausible," Wu said in regards to her idea. "So we will head to Ninjago City. Nua-"

"Aye aye, Sensei!" she replied before he could finish. She set course for Ninjago City, and the Bounty rose into the night sky.

* * *

 **Yeah so Lloyd doesn't get golden powers here. He just gets stronger creation powers, which will be cool. It's like alchemy, if any of you have watched Fullmetal Alchemist. Next challenge is to find the kunoichi of life.**

 **Nothing else left to say. Hope you liked it!**


	27. Where is Life?

**Sorry for the slightly longer-than-usual wait. I aim for one chapter a week, but I got a bit lazy so I didn't write much last week. Anyways, here is the chapter and hope you like it!**

* * *

Chapter 27: Where is Life?

The Bounty had reached Ninjago City at around noon the next day. Getting from the Dark Island to Ninjago took a while on its own, but travelling farther into the mainland makes it even longer. The Bounty was landed on the outskirts of the city.

Sensei Wu and Misako had called for a meeting in the bridge. "What's this meeting about, uncle?" Lloyd asked Wu.

"It is about how we will find the kunoichi of life," he replied.

"Isn't it going to be a gut feeling as always?" Nya questioned.

"Wu and I have thought so," Misako answered. "But we need to be careful about this gut feeling. The kunoichi of life is very important, just like Lloyd."

"So we cannot just have anyone we deem fit to be the kunoichi of life," Wu elaborated.

"Then…how else do we figure it out?" Nya asked.

"We thought over this for a while," Misako told them all. "We think the kunoichi of life would be best as someone who is kind, compassionate, and enthusiastic about life."'

Jay chuckled non-humorously. "This is nice and all, but where do we find her in this giant city?"

"I suppose Lloyd has to go," Cole elbowed the green ninja, who happened to be standing next to him. "After all, she will end up being his love interest."

The green ninja rolled his eyes. "Ugh, you make it sound…gross! Just…call me back when you have a plan or whatever." He left silently and nobody said a word to try and stop him.

"I sense Lloyd is feeling lonely and possibly jealous," Zane guessed after he was gone.

"He will get over it," Sensei Wu said, and though his beard everyone could see a smile.

"So how are we going to find her?" Brisa asked and broke the moment of silence.

"It's quite simple, yet tedious" Misako remarked gladly. "We take Lloyd out with us to various places. He will, eventually, find her."

Everyone was dumbfounded except for Wu and Misako.

"That's our plan?!" Reyna cried out. "That's going to take forever!"

"I don't really think there's a better idea…" Kai said disappointedly. "But Reyna's right. This'll take forever."

They called Lloyd back like he had told them to. He wasn't fond of the idea, an idea that could take a long time to complete, but he had nothing better, so he went along with it.

"But when you go out, you must not wear clothes that make it clear to others that you are the ninja," Misako told everybody.

"Uh, don't most people already know our faces?" the black ninja asked a bit rhetorically. After all, they were the heroes of Ninjago everyone knows them as, so anyone not living under a rock would know they are the ninja.

"But they don't really know us," Astra said flatly, referring to the four kunoichi.

Jay sighed. "Why can't we all just follow what Misako told us? Just wear regular clothes! No harm in doing that!"

Everyone mumbled in agreement and disagreement with the blue ninja, but in the end, they went along with it.

At first, they went around to stores and restaurants around the city. It didn't do them any good. The ninja went first with Lloyd to stores and restaurants for a few days, but all their fans (mainly girls and younger boys) kept staring at them with smiles on their faces and whispering to their friends. A lot of them asked for autographs, and the ninja got tired of it so they left it to the kunoichi.

The kunoichi didn't have much more luck. The "gut feeling" didn't hit anyone, neither them nor Lloyd, and the green ninja hated that he was the only guy in their group. They even went into Ninjago Doomsday Comix, coaxed by Lloyd and being tricked so that he could buy a comic book or two. Eventually, other guys began eyeing the kunoichi, so they all headed back to the Bounty so they didn't run into any trouble.

After days of searching around Ninjago City, nobody had gotten a gut feeling. They even talked to some of the girls who were fans of the ninja, but none seemed to be in Lloyd's liking. As much as the green ninja didn't want to admit it out loud, he knew the kunoichi of life would be his love, but he just pretended he wasn't doing it for that. Truth be told, he was beginning to feel lonely, and Misako had made him realize that during one of their talks on their way back to Ninjago after they went to the Temple of Light.

They went to all sorts of places in the days past. Stores, restaurants, and malls of all sorts, and even other buildings like the Ninjago Museum of History and the Ninjago Aquarium. In all the places, they found nobody worthy of being the kunoichi of life. Not by gut feeling standards, at least.

"Ugh! Why is it so hard to find someone?!" Lloyd yelled out on the Bounty for the millionth time in the past few days.

"It's…kind of…your fault…" Cole said hesitantly.

The green ninja glared at the black ninja. "How so?"

He sighed. "It's your love life that you're looking for, Lloyd." Cole sounded serious, but the look he gave Lloyd told the green ninja that there was also some teasing in his voice. "It's your choice."

Lloyd groaned. "Whatever. We'll find her, and then we'll beat those guys up, and we're done with it."

"It will not be that easy," an older voice said. The two ninja turned and saw Sensei Wu walking in. "The kunoichi have yet to unlock their full potential, much like you have. All of you must train to know how to defeat your enemy."

"And when will we learn that?" Cole crossed his arms and his eyebrows furrowed. He was getting impatient to learn how to get revenge on Tylor.

"Once the kunoichi of life is found," he answered calmly.

"Are you sure?" Lloyd asked. He was getting impatient with this as well.

He nodded. "I promise. I am not going to wait for the kunoichi to unlock their full potential to teach them this. That is far too long from now to wait for it."

The two ninja nodded. "Good," Cole said happily. Now, if only they could find the kunoichi of life…

* * *

"Hey, Nya," Jay said to the cyan kunoichi. "I was wondering…do you want to…um…go on a date?"

The couple was in the bridge, alone, replacing some wires that were getting old. She turned back at him. "Really? Jay, we're doing something important, trying to find the kunoichi of life! And you want to go out on a date?"

"We can…uh…take Lloyd with us?" the blue ninja offered, feeling like he just got rejected.

Nya looked at him strangely. "Take Lloyd with us on _our_ date? Isn't that weird?"

Jay put up his hands. "No! I didn't mean it like that!"

"Then what?"

"I meant to say that Lloyd and maybe some others can come with us," he explained fully. "We'll just…eat dinner or something while they look for the kunoichi of life. How about that?"

The water kunoichi raised an eyebrow at her boyfriend. "That sounds weird. It's like we're going with them to help find the kunoichi of life and then eat dinner while they do all the work."

Jay sighed. "How about we go to Mega Monster Amusement Park? We haven't searched there yet for the kunoichi of life. We can try a dinner there for the third time while Lloyd and someone else from the Bounty look around. Then we'll help them later!"

Nya laughed. "Go to Mega Monster Amusement Park for a date not once, not twice, but THREE times?! I don't think so."

"Oh, come on!" the blue ninja whined. "I want to keep trying there until it's proper."

She folded her arms. "So if this one doesn't work and we get kidnapped again, or worse, someone else gets kidnapped, we're trying it again?"

Jay chuckled. "Exactly!"

 _Go, Nya!_ Hydroslasher urged her. _You know you want to!_

"Oh, be quiet!" she said aloud, earning a confused look from Jay. "Sorry, I was supposed to talk to Hydroslasher." _I think we should help look for the kunoichi of life, not go on a date!_

 _But the lightning boy is right! You have not checked Mega Monster Whatever Park, and this gives you an opportunity to kill two birds with one stone!_

 _Uh, what guarantee do you have everything will go as planned? Us finishing dinner there for once, and finding the kunoichi?_

 _No guarantees!_ it squealed in her mind. _Just go and have fun!_

Nya sighed aloud. "Fine," she said. "We'll go tonight."

Jay had a big smile on his face, looking like a kid. "Really?" She nodded. "Thanks, Nya! I'm sure nothing will go wrong this time!" He ran up, gave her a quick kiss on the cheek, and ran out the door like the little kid he was looking like.

Nya laughed while watching him run out the door. Then she opened her eyes after finishing her laugh and remembered the wires weren't done being replaced. "Wait! Who helps me finish replacing the wires now?!"

It was evening and it was time for Jay and Nya to go to Mega Monster Amusement Park with Lloyd. When Nya told the other kunoichi, Reyna wanted to go with them, never having been to the park. When she asked Cole if he would tag along, the black ninja naturally said yes, happy to help them (but mostly to be with Reyna).

Although Sensei Wu didn't particularly like the idea that the whole thing was a date and not fully focused to find the kunoichi of life, Misako convinced him to let the ninja and kunoichi have a break once in a while and let them do what they want. Eventually, Wu gave in and agreed to let the five of them go.

The Bounty was taken to Mega Monster Amusement Park. When people saw the Bounty, they rushed to get a glimpse of some of the ninja, but they also saw the kunoichi, which surprised most because they had never thought there was any girl on the ninja's team except for Nya.

When they got off, people asked for autographs, leaving the ninja and kunoichi dumbfounded as to why people had a pen (and some with paper as well) at an amusement park. They signed for anyone who had asked. After all, they have to make a good impression on the people of Ninjago, especially the kunoichi because the public didn't know who they were.

The group of five walked through the park and looked at the fun-looking rides and good-looking food being sold at the sides. "So are we going to look first or are you going to eat your dinner?" Lloyd asked Jay and Nya.

"We'll look around a bit first," Nya answered before Jay could say otherwise. She definitely did not want to promise him and then go back on it.

And so they talked to strangers who were, of course, willing to talk to them. It took a while before they could meet up again.

"I'm guessing we all got nowhere?" Lloyd sighed. Everyone nodded glumly.

"Uh, well, I guess Nya and I will be on our way," Jay said slowly to not seem like a jerk. _At least I tried,_ is what went through his mind.

"We'll walk with you guys to the restaurant," Reyna told them.

The lightning ninja shrugged. "Sure."

They walked toward the restaurant, but Cole caught a whiff of something that smelled very appetizing to him. He stopped moving and kept smelling to make sure it was what he thought it was. "CAKE!" he screamed out and ran in the direction of the smell.

Everyone turned back to see why he yelled and saw the earth ninja running towards something they couldn't see. "Cole! Wait! We're supposed to stick together!" Reyna shouted after him, but he couldn't hear.

The teal kunoichi shook her head and looked back at the other three. "I'll catch up with you in a bit. I'll stay with Cole for now." She dashed off in the direction of the black ninja, who was nowhere to be seen.

"Um, I guess it's us three now," the cyan kunoichi said awkwardly.

After Cole and Reyna had run off, Lloyd began trailing behind the other two. He was in a pretty glum mood. _So many days of searching but nothing to show for it._

But then, something unexpected happened. From behind, a cloth was suddenly placed around his mouth and quickly tied behind him. He tried yelling out to Jay and Nya, but the cloth was muffling his voice, and he was too far away for them to hear. His arms were lifted and he was dragged backwards from his arms. When he tried looking back to see who it was, his head was turned back to the position it was in before and held like that. Lloyd didn't bother trying to struggle and get away. He was too tired. Jay and Nya hadn't even noticed he was being kidnapped. Instead, he saw that they were laughing at whatever they were saying. Lloyd closed his eyes and told himself he would do a quick powernap.

* * *

 **So Lloyd gets kidnapped and he doesn't want to fight back but just wants it to let it happen. Who do you think it could be? Could this somehow lead him to the kunoichi of life? Yeah, I don't have anything much to say...**

 **Hope you liked it!**


	28. Destinies Intertwine

**So I was a bit later than I expected in updating this. I aim for once a week now.**

 **Gosh, it's hard thinking of something else to write here now. Hope you like it!**

* * *

Chapter 28: Destinies Intertwine

Jay and Nya were walking towards the restaurant they had chosen. They still had no idea that Lloyd was no longer with them. While they knew they had separated from Cole and Reyna, what they didn't know was that the green ninja was kidnapped. They continued their conversation without looking back even once while other people at the park looked at them as they passed by.

At last, they reached the restaurant they had chosen to dine at. It was the same one as the first date they had. "Okay, Lloyd," the blue ninja turned around to speak to the green one. "Lloyd? Where'd you go?"

Nya turned around as well, wondering if he was actually gone. Of course, the blue ninja's eyes weren't failing him. Lloyd was truly gone.

"Hey, Lloyd, where'd you go?" the cyan kunoichi called out. Instead of Lloyd, she got a bunch of other people looking at her. "Um, maybe we'll find him later," Nya told Jay, not liking the extra attention she just drew to herself.

She dragged the lightning ninja inside while he kept looking to spot Lloyd. How hard was it to find someone wearing full green? Apparently, very hard.

* * *

Lloyd woke up to find out he was lying flat on solid ground, and it felt like he was chained to the ground. It was pretty dark, but there seemed to be a fire or candle near him that brightened just enough so he could see his surroundings. He could see rocks in the light. "Is this a cave?" he asked, even if he had no idea if anyone could hear him. Surprisingly, his voice didn't echo, meaning it was unlikely that it was a cave.

"Wow, you're awake!" a lovely female voice exclaimed. "And I'm surprised you didn't say the typical movie or book line: the 'where am I?' line."

Lloyd's heart beat faster just by hearing the voice. _Wait, could this be the kunoichi of life I just heard? No way, Lloyd! She's just another person! There's no way I can possibly like a kidnapper!_ Lloyd cleared his throat. "That's…nice, I guess. Could you explain why you brought me here?"

She chuckled. "Because you're the green ninja."

Lloyd groaned.

"What's the matter? You are the green ninja, right?" she asked.

Lloyd nodded. "Yeah." From the sound, it felt like she was somewhere to the left of him, quite close, actually. "What does that have to do anything?"

"Oh, me and the girls wanted to see you close-up!" she squealed in delight.

Lloyd rolled his eyes with his eyes closed. "You could've done that without bringing me here! Could've just asked for my autograph or something! What is this place, anyway?" he raised his voice.

"Oh, don't worry about that," she replied. She whistled and about a dozen girls came streaming in out of nowhere. Or…what seemed to be nowhere to Lloyd, because the light didn't allow him to see far enough.

"Oh, it's the green ninja!" one of them squealed.

"I can't believe I'm seeing him in person!" another exclaimed.

Like this, all of them began saying things Lloyd couldn't even hear because it was too loud. "Uh…who are all these people?" the green ninja asked loudly to the girl, wherever she was.

"Allow me to introduce us all," the girl with the voice that made Lloyd's heart beat faster said. "You see, all of us girls work at Mega Monster Amusement Park. This is just a meeting spot for us when we have a break or something. It's pretty nice, actually."

Lloyd groaned and rolled his eyes. "Are you kidding me? All of you work at the park, yet you kidnap me like I'm your enemy?!"

"Don't get so upset! You can leave if you want," she replied.

"This is ridiculous. Ridiculously stupid," Lloyd spat. "And was that about me being able to leave? How can I leave when I'm chained to the ground?"

"You aren't chained to the ground," she replied. "You only think you are because that's what always happens to people: they get chained."

Lloyd looked over at his arms and realized she was right. The chains were only an illusion. But if that were the case, why did he feel like he couldn't move? "Then why couldn't I move before?" he asked.

She shrugged. "It was your imagination. Nothing was holding you down in the first place."

To try to see if what she was saying was true, he moved his arms. Nothing held them. He got up slowly after. The girl was completely right. Lloyd was not restricted in anyway. Then he looked in the direction of where the voice was coming from and saw the girl at last. The little light shining towards her changed what she actually looked like, but Lloyd couldn't help to find her beautiful just like her voice. Lloyd's heart seemed to have started beating faster when he saw her. _It…it has to be her,_ he said in his mind. The kunoichi of life is essentially Lloyd's choice to pick, although he was sure destiny had a part in it as well.

"Uh, I need to talk to you," he told her. When the other girls around him didn't move, he added, "Alone." That made them move and they talked and murmured away with each other. Lloyd still couldn't feel that he would be heard if he talked here, so he asked her something. "Any private place here? Somewhere where it wouldn't be easy to hear us?"

The girl raised her eyebrows and gave a piercing look. "Fine. Follow me."

Together, in silence, the two walked out of the light and reached a place of darkness. Then, after a few turns, there was light again. Not sunlight, but torchlight. "This place is far from the rest. Nobody comes here anymore. It should be fine for whatever you're going to say."

Lloyd nodded and saw a rock. He sat down on it. He couldn't help but feel that his shadow the light produced was actually a person that he was being spied on. "First things first, you know my name, so why don't you tell me yours?"

She nodded. "Sure. My name is Zoe Kristen."

Lloyd raised an eyebrow at her. She seemed very straightforward and answered what was asked of her.

"So, is that all you're going to ask? If that was it, you could've asked me there, instead of walking all the way here." Zoe sounded a bit edgy.

Lloyd shook his head. "There's more to it. Way more."

Zoe took a seat on a rock in front of him. "Then tell me what it is."

The green ninja took a deep breath. "This may sound crazy, but it's important and 100% real. My uncle and sensei, Wu, saw a prophecy a month ago about four new heroes of Ninjago - the kunoichi; female ninja. But there's one more. Just like how I can control the elements of the ninja, there's a fifth kunoichi that can control the elements of the other four kunoichi. We've found all the kunoichi except the fifth one. My uncle and a childhood friend of his say that the kunoichi of life will be found because of a gut feeling." At this point, Zoe looked at him like he was crazy. "I know, very unreliable. But, we have yet to find the kunoichi of life."

"Uh, sorry for interrupting, but why are you telling me, a stranger, all of this?" she inquired.

Lloyd sighed. "Now the even crazier part. It's because I think you're the kunoichi of life," he blurted out.

Zoe sat back and crossed her arms. Then she laughed out loud. "Nice, nice. Nice joke." When she saw the confused look on Lloyd's face, she elaborated. "Why would I be this all powerful kunoichi of life, of all people? I work at an amusement park!"

"But I told you!" he protested. "Gut feeling!" He left out the part that the gut feeling would happen whenhe ended up falling for a girl, which was about now.

Silence fell between the two for several minutes. It was so silent that the flickering flames could be heard. "So? What's it going to be? I'm not lying."

Zoe gritted her teeth. "How do I know you're not?"

He sighed again. "Why would I lie about this? If you still don't believe me, then I promise on my title as the green ninja that I'm not lying, that I honestly think you're the kunoichi of life."

A smile creeped on Zoe's face. "You know, Lloyd, I've always wanted to do something new. Working with the ninja…and now the kunoichi…that's amazing."

Lloyd was so happy on the inside. "So is that a yes?"

"Not quite, green ninja," she answered very quickly. "As much as I'd like to…I'm not sure if I could."

Lloyd was dismayed now. "Why not?"

"That's a BIG job, and I'm sure you know that," she answered. "It's just…hard for me to take in, that you, the greatest hero of Ninjago, think that I can be a hero as big as you. Then there's things like family and friends to worry about. It's overwhelming."

Lloyd lowered his eyes. "I…I actually can't relate to that, despite being in a similar position. I accepted my destiny even though I hated it…it meant fighting my own dad for the good of Ninjago. It seemed fun at first, before the time came to fight him. But I hated it when I had to fight him. I haven't seen him since the final battle."

Zoe looked at him in shock, surprised that he had gone through so much. She would never be able to muster the courage to fight a friend or family member. "I'm…I'm surprised you had the strength to fight your dad. I know I wouldn't."

Lloyd looked back up. "Enough of these sob stories. Are you with us, or not?"

Zoe gritted her teeth. "I'm not sure, Lloyd. It would be cool…travelling along with you guys…"

Lloyd looked straight at her, pleading to her to join them with his eyes, but she wasn't looking at him, so she didn't notice.

"It's a big choice," she said after a minute of silence. "But I think I won't regret too much."

Lloyd's heart was pounding, hoping she was making for a 'yes' answer. "Regret what?"

"Regret joining you, silly!" she answered happily.

Lloyd did a sigh of relief. "Oh, wow. I thought you weren't going to regret coming with us much."

She laughed a fine and true laugh. "I told you, I wanted to try new things. Doing this would be amazing!"

Lloyd laughed with her. "Good. I'm glad I could convince you. I was scared that you might not have. Our hopes of saving the world once again would have vanished without the kunoichi of life."

Her laughter died down. "Saving the world again? That's why this whole kunoichi thing is happening?"

Lloyd nodded. "My uncle will explain it to you as soon as we get back to the Bounty, our flying ship."

She jumped up excitedly. "Then let's get going!" She pulled Lloyd by the arm and brought him up and ran through the tunnel through the direction they came in…or so Lloyd hoped because he couldn't see anything with the torches gone. Eventually, they burst into the evening sunlight.

"Wow, I spent a while in there," Lloyd remarked at the darkening sky. It was definitely darker since he got "kidnapped" of course. The park was still quite full, mainly of people waiting to get a glimpse of the ninja again.

"Lloyd!" a familiar voice shouted out. They turned around and saw Cole and Reyna running towards them.

"Lloyd! Where have you been? And who is this?" Reyna bombarded the green ninja.

"Well…where do I start?" he said. "I kind of got kidnapped by a bunch of girls who work here, and then I met here inside," he gestured towards Zoe.

"The name's Zoe," she said happily to the other two.

"And while talking to her, I got the gut feeling that she is the kunoichi of life," the green ninja finished his short story. Then he looked at her properly in light. She was even prettier outside than she was inside that…place. He could see dark blonde hair and what seemed to be black eyes, although he couldn't tell because he couldn't directly see her face and there wasn't enough light.

Cole and Reyna looked at the newcomer with amazement and curiosity. They wondered what kind of teammate she would prove to be.

"Um, where are Jay and Nya?" Lloyd asked the other couple.

"They went to the other side to look for you," Cole answered. "They finished their dinner…and so did we." He had a light blush on his cheeks, and so did Reyna. Lloyd, understanding what had happened, said nothing more about the matter. He figured Cole and Reyna must've had dinner somewhere together, too.

"Let's go find Nya and Jay," Reyna changed the topic. The four nodded and set out to look for them. Eventually, they found them, with Jay trying to buy a stuffed animal for Nya, but the cyan kunoichi was declining.

"Let's get to the Bounty," Zoe said excitedly after the green ninja gave their two other friends about what had happened. They all nodded and headed for the flying ship.

* * *

 **Lloyd got kidnapped, but he finds the kunoichi of life in the process...and the love he was looking for. Will Zoe return it? Will she even stay with them after Sensei Wu tells her about their mission? Well...I know you know the answers to this...but if you don't, I won't spoil it. It's obvious.**

 **Fight scenes will become cooler sounding now that everyone has a Blade. Expect it to be like bending from the Avatar series, but with swords controlling the elements rather than the people. The history of the Blades will also be key to the story, so stay tuned! Oh, and the ninja and kunoichi will finally learn how to counter their dark counterparts.**

 **Hope you liked it!**


	29. Crossroads of Decision

**Sorry for the delay! I was having trouble writing this chapter because I didn't really know what to write because it would be too short for my standards. Anyways, I realized now that I made Brisa silver and the kunoichi of life would be pink while the second chapter of the story says vice-versa, so I went and changed that to make it consistent and not confuse readers who may have just started the story.**

 **Also, if this story were a show/anime, I guess the second season/arc would've started around now (or maybe just before/after they found their Blades). I don't know, it could be before or after they got their Blades, whichever way you would think about it as, and if you don't care (which most of you won't, I know), then that's fine as well!**

 **Hope you like it!**

* * *

Chapter 29: Crossroad of Decision

It was obviously night when the group reached the Bounty again. Everyone was inside, eating dinner, assuming the five that went to the park had eaten on their own while they were there.

"I see we have a new face," Wu said when he saw Zoe. She gave a quick smile to everyone.

"I am sensing that she is the destined kunoichi of life," Zane said with a quick glance at her.

"Did you all have dinner?" Misako asked the group.

Cole nodded, and then saw Lloyd and Zoe. "Well, except for the two of them, I think."

Lloyd nodded in agreement. "Yeah, Zoe and I haven't eaten yet."

"There is still some pasta and garlic bread left," the white ninja told the two. "Help yourselves."

Lloyd and Zoe sat down at the table and ate the food that was still left.

"So, she's the kunoichi of life we've looked so hard for?" Kai asked nobody in particular.

"Yeah, Lloyd thinks it's her," his sister answered.

The red ninja raised his eyebrows at Lloyd, and then looked at Zoe, who looked like she hadn't heard a thing.

Their dinner was done fast, even with general conversations, so Wu decided to start his questions. "Zoe, as I understand, you have trusted Lloyd's gut feeling about you and have accepted his offer of becoming the kunoichi of life?"

Zoe nodded. "That's right."

Wu closed his eyes. "Then you are aware of the downsides of doing so?"

Zoe thought for a moment before she gave her answer. "Um, not really, no."

Wu sat back in his chair. "Then Jay will tell you." He looked at the blue ninja expectedly, and everyone else followed.

He turned his gaze to his Sensei. "Oh, uh, what?"

"Tell Zoe the difficulties of the path you have taken to become a ninja," Wu told him.

"Oh, it's uh…hard," the blue ninja said quickly.

Sensei Wu nodded in approval. "Very insightful. Anyone else?"

Reyna looked at her brothers and sisters, then stepped up. "I may not have been a kunoichi as long as they've been a ninja, but I can say it will be a pretty hard path. I haven't done most of the things that make it hard, but I'm sure we'll end up having to do something that we don't like. Oh, and training. Training is hard because we wake up early and do stretches."

Sensei Wu nodded again. "We don't mean to discourage you, Zoe, but we just want to make sure that you are happy with your decision. Life as a ninja or kunoichi can get tough at times, and I want to make you know what you are missing in your life before this to accept this new one."

Zoe thought hard. All the things she would miss…her family, her friends, her job, and, most importantly, her _freedom_. She had the freedom to do almost anything she wanted, and that's the way she wanted to live life. But by being a kunoichi, she was throwing away much of that freedom, and instead, was doing something someone else told her was her destiny.

While she was thinking, Lloyd couldn't help but admire the way her black-looking eyes looked with the rest of her face in "thinking" mode. Her eyes and her face actually made her look scary.

"Um, can I get more time to think?" Zoe asked Sensei Wu. She felt really pressured to give her final answer right now, and more time would definitely help her.

Wu nodded. "Yes, of course. You can have until tomorrow morning, even longer if you need extra time. Take as much time as you need."

Zoe was relieved she would get more time to think about it. After all, it was a matter of a big part of her life they were talking about.

Later, the ninja and kunoichi told some of their stories to Zoe, including how they were found, the names of their Blades, and some of their adventures.

At the end of it all, Zoe nodded her head like she was impressed. "That's a lot of stuff," she said. "And some cool Blade names. But why doesn't Lloyd have one?"

The ninja in question shrugged. "I don't know. I guess that because I'm supposed to be more powerful than them, I don't get one. If you become the kunoichi of life, I doubt you'd get a Blade either."

"That's right," Misako jumped in. "The fifth ninja or kunoichi don't get a Blade, but only the four whose elements they possess get one."

Zoe changed the topic. "What kind of powers would I have if I chose to be the kunoichi of life?"

Misako shifted around, not knowing what to say. "Well…that's something we can only find out when the time comes. See, an element such as, let's say, water, is pretty easy to predict in which powers the person would have. Something like life is much harder to predict, leaving us with a mystery."

Zoe looked impressed. "Would I be able to bring people back to life?"

Misako chuckled. "Perhaps, perhaps not. We don't know."

"That'd be really cool if you would be able to!" Nya exclaimed in excitement. She was, of course, thinking of her parents. Similarly, Kai was as well. The other ninja and kunoichi also thought of the people they would want alive as well.

Zoe also thought, but about other things, like what her powers could be. Suddenly, she realized how tired she was, and decided she would sleep. She stood up. "I think I'll go home now," she said. "I'm feeling sleepy."

Everyone looked at her. "Uh, we have an extra bed in our room that you could sleep on," Brisa informed her.

"Yeah, it's supposed to be for you," Astra said.

Zoe looked at the group in shock. "A bed? For me? How long has it been there?"

Nya shrugged. "It's been a while, but I can't remember exactly when. But it was always meant for the kunoichi of life."

Zoe didn't really have any words for them. She was surprised they would let a stranger like her stay on their ship for a night, not to say she was going to leave them tomorrow. "Well…wow, thanks, I guess."

Nya jumped up. "As leader of the kunoichi, I'll show you to our room." She walked with Zoe until they reached the room and came back a moment after.

Everyone was sure Zoe wouldn't be able to hear them talk now. "So, do you guys think she'll join us?" Lloyd asked anxiously. He really wanted her to join them, and that much was obvious to the rest of the team.

"Relax, Lloyd," Jay soothed him. "She said yes at the park, didn't she?" When Lloyd nodded, he continued. "Then she'll say yes tomorrow too."

"I would not be so sure of that," Zane put in his take on the matter. "She did not seem to be very aware of what she was giving up at the amusement park. Now she has an idea of our life and what we do. That may have changed her mind."

Lloyd's eyes gave a menacing look. "Uh, Zane, I think you should try saying what Lloyd wanted to hear," Cole whispered to the white ninja.

"But I told him what was in my mind about the matter," he responded.

"That's fine, but we'd rather see you in the one piece you are right now," Kai also whispered to the nindroid, who happened to be sitting in between the black and red ninja.

Zane shrugged. "We'll hear her decision tomorrow. For now, let us talk of other matters."

"Like what?" Lloyd asked.

"What are we going to do next?" Nya asked the team. "Like, if Zoe says yes, which she probably will, what do we do in the days after?"

"It's simple," Misako answered the cyan kunoichi. "You haven't had proper training with your Blades yet, so you will learn to master it. The kunoichi will also have to work towards their true potential."

"Yes, that is right," Sensei Wu came walking in, staff in hand. He had come back from a break to his room. "The kunoichi must unlock their true potential by getting past what holds them back mentally, not physically."

"And how do we know what's holding us back?" Reyna asked him.

"You must have some idea about that." Wu smiled lightly. "I can already guess the weakness for some of you." When he said this, he looked at Nya and Astra, both of which looked back at him a bit anxiously, to say the least. "But, back to your question, Reyna." The teal kunoichi perked up again after hearing her name. "If there is something that you may be thinking about often, then that could be the mental weakness."

Both Reyna and Brisa looked down after he said that. If something that they often thought about could be the obstacle they need to get over, then they may very well know what it is.

"But how do we overcome it?" Astra asked her Sensei.

Instead of Wu, Misako answered her. "You will be put into a position where you have no choice but to overcome it. If you make the right decision at that time, then you will unlock your full power."

Everyone took in the words she said. It made sense.

"Yeah, for me, I wanted to save Lloyd and the Fang Blade inside the Fire Temple," Kai said. "But obviously, I couldn't do both, so I got over the fact that I can't always do everything, and I saved Lloyd and ditched the Fang Blade."

"In other words, he couldn't always be the hero," his sister teased him.

Kai glared at her, but she ignored it.

"It makes sense," Brisa said. "What Misako said makes sense. It'll unlock when the time comes."

Both Wu and Misako nodded.

Cole yawned. "You know what? I'm going to sleep too. Good night, everyone."

Everyone else agreed as well and said their good nights. When Jay and Nya thought no one was looking, they did a quick kiss, but they didn't know that Kai fully saw what they did, but he decided to let them off.

* * *

In the morning, everyone miraculously had breakfast together, something that rarely ever happened. Zoe took this time to get to know her new friends better, as well as giving them an idea of her personality by showing them her funny side. Everyone laughed at the jokes she said, making her feel more included. This only made Lloyd like her more.

After they were done breakfast, everyone begged Zoe to tell them if she was going to accept being the kunoichi of life or not.

"Zoe! Have you made up your mind yet?" Brisa asked her.

"Yeah! Will you join us?" Nya asked her as well.

Misako chuckled, listening to their begging. "Wu and I decided that you would train first and then Zoe gives us her answer. That way, she knows what our training looks like and can decide off that."

"No fair!" Astra pouted. "She gets to see our training and decide, while I just get brought here?"

"To be fair, you did decide you wanted to come with us," Zane reminded her.

Astra shrugged, not having anything left to say.

"Sure, I have my answer, but I guess I'll tell you after your training!" Zoe said while giving them all a big smile like 'haha!'

Everyone groaned but went with it anyways, and it seemed like the only happy ones of the bunch were Zoe, Wu, and Misako.

They headed outside for training with their Blades in hand. At first, the ninja and kunoichi talked to their Blades more to create a closer relationship with it. After all, it would prove to be their best friends in a fight.

After that, they started some real training. They worked on drawing the power from the Blade and blasting it off the Bounty, and it seemed that the Bounty went to the middle of nowhere to do this, although Nya claimed it was still close to Ninjago City, nobody could see it. The only exception to this training was Brisa, who had to do other training first. Lloyd, being the only one of them without a Blade, worked on his balance because he had no idea what else to do.

Finally, they did some light sparring with their Blades aside. It involved only their bodies and nothing more.

It was close to noon when the ninja and kunoichi were done their training, and they asked Wu and Misako if Zoe could tell her decision then. They nodded.

"Well, Zoe," Lloyd told her. "What's the plan?"

She shifted her legs and head around a lot, thinking of what to say. He answer was pretty much finalized. This one answer would decide what she would do for the next few months, maybe even years, so it was, of course, a big decision to make. "Well…" she started.

* * *

 **Now the story will be focusing on the mental obstacles the kunoichi face and how they overcome it to get their full potential. This'll come with training, fluff, and some Blade action! Oh, and maybe some drama as well...**

 **Hope you liked it!**


	30. Dark Elements

**Back with another chapter! The ninja and kunoichi learn what their enemies can do and how to fight them here. Also focuses a bit on the mental obstacles of the kunoichi. Not much else to say here. Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 30: Dark Elements

"Well…" Zoe began. "I guess I will join you on this adventure."

Everybody got big smiles on their faces when they heard that she would be joining them.

""Good job, Zoe!" Nya shouted out.

"I am glad you will be joining us," Zane said calmly with a smile

Everyone showered good things to say to Zoe while the new kunoichi was smiling the whole time, happy to have made them happy.

"I'm glad you'll be able to help us on our journey," Misako told her after the happiness was being less expressed by the ninja and kunoichi.

Sensei Wu nodded. "As am I. I am happy you made what you think is the right choice." After that, Wu transformed Zoe into the official kunoichi of life by giving her the pink kunoichi outfit meant for her. "Now, you can officially be called the kunoichi of life."

Zoe gave a big smile to everyone, showing that she appreciated their happiness and enthusiasm, which is exactly what she liked out of a person.

Then it was time for lunch, and Zane had tried to make the quickest lunch he could. Fortunately, sandwiches and drinks would do for everyone, and the lunch turned out long, a lot longer than the preparations of it.

After their long lunch was done, Zoe went outside on the deck to feel the wind, something she missed doing inside. After all, she worked outdoors most of the time back at Mega Monster Amusement Park and got a lot of fresh air there. She heard footsteps behind her, and figured it would be Lloyd. She turned around and saw it was indeed the green ninja.

"Hey," he greeted her with a smile. "I didn't say anything back there, but I'm really happy you'll join us now."

Zoe gave him a smile as well. "Thanks, Lloyd. I'm glad I'll be able to help you guys. It's no small role, I'm sure."

Lloyd shrugged. "Doubt it. A ninja doesn't get a small role to play, not when it comes to saving the world at least."

Their conversation was interrupted by a lot of pleading and begging behind them. They saw the ninja, kunoichi, and Wu and Misako walk out from inside.

"Please, Sensei!" They heard Jay. "Even the kunoichi of life is here. Can we at least know now how to defeat these freaks?"

"Yeah, I agree with Jay! We've waited long enough!" Cole budged in.

Wu sighed. "Fine. Then you all must listen very carefully." He noticed Lloyd and Zoe standing at the rail out of the corner of his eye. The ninja, kunoichi, and Misako turned to where he was looking, and the ninja seemed to be teasing Lloyd with their faces, and the kunoichi were doing the same to Zoe. "Lloyd, Zoe, please come here. This is important for your training." The two obeyed.

"Uh, is this about our evil counterparts?" Lloyd asked his uncle.

He nodded. "About how to stop them."

Zoe put up her hands. "Hold up! What's all this about evil counterparts?"

"I will explain," Zane said, and nobody argued with him. "The enemies we are up against are basically evil counterparts of two of us. There are five of them, and each of the five are powerful enough to take on any two of us. But to explain the 'evil counterpart' more, I will give an example. One of our enemies' names is Palmer. He has the elements of dark water and dark lightning. Now, Sensei will finally teach us how to counter these dark elements."

Wu nodded. "Do you understand, Zoe?"

She nodded. "For the most part. You can go ahead."

He nodded with his eyes closed. "First, I will say what the element does, and then how to stop it. First will be Palmer. Dark lightning has the power to shock, incinerate, or destroy anything it touches when used at full power." As he said this, far, far away, Palmer was practicing his dark lightning on a rock. Black lightning came flashing from the sky and crashed down on the rock, incinerating it to nothing but ashes. "To counter this, equal power lightning must be used, or any fears of the user of dark lightning but must be put away to weaken it. Remember, everyone, all dark powers feed off your fears and weaknesses to that element." He looked at Jay, who nodded in understanding.

"Next is dark water. Dark water can drown and flood anything." At this, Palmer used his dark water and made it go around the ashes of the rock in a circle. In a few seconds, the ashes were gone and there was a crater in the ground where the water was. "To counter it…it is much the same as dark lightning: equal power water or getting rid of fears of water to weaken it." Nya nodded as well.

"Next is black earth. This element can crush anything, as Cole felt at the Mountain of a Million Steps. It can also bury anything." Now, Tylor practiced his dark earth on a statue by forming an open cylinder around it, much like he did to Cole, and crushed it in no time at all. "Countering it is the same as any other dark element, so I will not keep repeating it." Cole nodded at his Sensei as well.

"Next: black nature. This element is very stealthy and can trap or suffocate anything with dangerous, hard-to-see vines." Reyna nodded to Wu as well. On the other side, Tylor stood still while black shadows appeared from beneath them. They looked like shadows, but as they got closer to their target, a rock, they rose and wrapped themselves around the rock with such strength that the rock exploded.

"After this is dark ice. Dark ice can freeze, shatter, or destroy anything, even from afar." Zane understood it as well. Now, Jarle practiced his dark ice on a statue as well, this one made by Tylor just to test out their powers. Jarle froze the entire statue in a matter of seconds. Then, he motioned his hands down and the entire statue collapsed into a million pieces, ice and earth together, shattered.

"Next is dark light, or shadow, whichever one you prefer to call it. This power can be used to bring darkness, make the user invisible in darkness, and destroy with beams of dark light." Astra nodded in understanding. In the same place, Jarle brought darkness above him in the sky, turned invisible, and blasted a beam of dark light at a tree in the distance. The tree was cut down immediately.

"Now we have dark fire. Dark fire can burn or incinerate anything to the point that not even ashes are left." Kai nodded too, understanding what it can do. Far away, a man not seen by the ninja or kunoichi before practiced the element. He used it on a group of trees. The black fire burned through the trees like nothing, and in a matter of moments, he called off the fire, leaving behind nothing but burn marks.

"After this is dark wind. Dark wind can blow, suffocate, or destroy anything, but it is visible, unlike regular wind." Brisa nodded. The same man now practiced his dark wind on a rock. Black wind gathered around him, and when he pointed his hand to the ground, the wind rushed down and slashed the ground. The scene looked like giant claw marks. Next, the wind went for the rock and blasted right through it, breaking the rock into a million pieces.

"Now we have the last two elements. First is Destruction. Much like Creation, destruction uses all four dark elements of creation and destroys anything, as the name implies. It leaves behind absolutely no trace that anything it hits was there." Lloyd nodded, although he was scared to face a person with such a power. This time, a different man was practicing his element. He charged up a beam and aimed it at a couple of trees. He released the black beam of destruction, and anything it touched disappeared, including the whole trees. It was impossible to tell the trees were ever there.

"Finally, Death. Death is a very powerful element. The one who controls this element has the power to bring back the dead…as well as kill the living. However, killing is harder, because his death attacks can be avoided or countered. Death will drain the life force of anything it can." Zoe nodded with the same feeling Lloyd had: fear. Almost everyone feared death. The same man was now near a large amount of trees. He surrounded the trees with a shield, almost like a closed stadium, of his element, completely blocking any view of the inside. Then, the shield disappeared and drooping, lifeless trees could be seen by the man.

"Those are all the dark elements," Sensei Wu finished. "You must get rid of your fear your own element, such as burning, or freezing, or drowning."

"Why would I be scared of fire?" Kai asked. "I'm the ninja of fire! It should be scared of me!"

"You are not fireproof, Kai," Wu replied. "You are definitely not dark fireproof. You will be scared of it when you see it."

"Thanks, Sensei!" Reyna said happily. "Now we know about and how to counter the dark elements!"

* * *

A week later, the ninja and kunoichi's training had progressed, and some of the kunoichi's mental flaws were actually quite noticeable.

Right now, it was time for Nya and Reyna to spar without their Blades, but Nya, having much more experience and physical strength, would most likely beat Reyna fairly easily. The fake fight started off slowly, with both girls being cautious of one another. Both were wearing the armour the ninja once wore in case things got a bit serious. Reyna landed the first hit, pushing the cyan kunoichi back a bit, but she came back and tackled Reyna down. The teal kunoichi pushed her off and both of them got up, and then Nya jumped over the other girl and landed small barrage of punches in her back. Then she tried pushing the teal kunoichi to the ground from behind, but Reyna stopped her fall with her hands while Nya ran in front of her. Then Reyna dashed forward and tried landing a punch in the face, but Nya narrowly escaped it.

"Reyna! We're not supposed to aim for each other's heads!" They weren't wearing a helmet.

"Oh…sorry! I forgot!" the teal kunoichi responded, realizing her mistake. The Nya tackled Reyna back down and pinned her and then came right back up. Reyna was tired, but she persisted. Nya blocked a kick and caught a punch, then spun Reyna around to the other side as the kunoichi of nature lost her balance and fell once again. She got up again, determined not to lose, as the others watched with eyes that practically said to not continue the fight.

"This is not good," Zane commented to his brothers and sisters. "They should stop, especially Reyna."

"Reyna, how about you try taking a break?" Cole suggested politely without trying to give her the wrong idea that he thought she wouldn't win.

"No. I just want to get her down once!" she said while keeping her eyes on her opponent. Nya narrowed her eyes at her, and got in a fighting stance. They both ran at each other, and at the last second, Reyna jumped over the cyan kunoichi and landed a punch near Nya's shoulder. Nya tripped, but didn't fall, and she turned around and intercepted the next punch. Then she twisted Reyna around, jumped in front of her and landed a kick in her stomach…but luckily the armour was there. The kunoichi of nature fell down again. This time, she struggled to get back on her feet, but she eventually did. When she got back up, she went for a push this time, but she was blocked, but this time by Cole.

"Enough, Reyna," he said. "You're tired. I can see it on your face."

She tried pushing past him, but he was like a brick wall between the two kunoichi. "Fine. I'm going inside."

Sensei Wu watched her as she walked back inside with a face that said defeat. He very well knew what held her back from unlocking her true potential. He could roughly tell what obstacles Nya and Astra had, but then there was Brisa, who showed nothing. He couldn't get even the slightest clue what her obstacle may be, but perhaps she wasn't letting it out and was being cautious not to. Zoe was a new kunoichi, so there may still be some time until she shows any signals.

* * *

Lunch time came and went. The mailman came to deliver letters from the ninja and kunoichi's parents. There was a letter for Jay, Cole, Reyna, Astra, and Zoe.

"Hey Brisa, why don't your parents ever write to you?" Jay asked the silver kunoichi.

She shrugged. "They wrote once, but that was a while ago. I responded, but I haven't gotten anything since."

"Maybe they're busy," Astra said. "Or they want to reply but keep forgetting."

Brisa chuckled. "Yeah, maybe. My parents are pretty forgetful sometimes."

What the others didn't know is that there was a completely different reason why her parents never sent letters. It wasn't that they were forgetful, but a much bigger reason.

* * *

 **Wu figures out Reyna's weakness while Brisa hides something about her parents from the other ninja and kunoichi. Of course, Wu will eventually find out what it is, but that may still be a few chapters.**

 **On another note, a certain someone will be entering this story sometime in the next 1-2 chapters. Can you guess who?**

 **Hope you liked it!**


	31. Kunoichi Problems

**Back with another chapter! A bit short but I think it's an important one. Also, I'm surprised at how many views this story is still getting. I thought a lot of people stopped reading after the long one month pause I had a few months ago, but it still seems to be getting more views than I thought it did. It's not a lot compared to other stories, but hey, it's more than what I expected.**

 **Although not many people seem to be reviewing...**

 **Hope you like it!**

* * *

Chapter 31: Kunoichi Problems

It was nighttime, after dinner was finished on the Bounty when Sensei Wu was searching for Astra. She had told him and Misako the problem she was facing on the day she got her Blade, but they had not talked about it since. After talking to Zane about it, Wu confirmed that they both had the same plan to help her.

He assumed she would be in her room, so she went to the kunoichi's room and knocked on the door. The rest of the kunoichi were still in the kitchen, talking, so he was quite sure Astra would be the only one in their room. He was right. The yellow kunoichi opened the door shortly after he knocked.

"Oh! Sensei! I'm surprised to find you here!" she said when she saw him.

He gave a smile to her. "May I come in?" She nodded in response. Wu walked in and sat on one of the kunoichi's beds. There was an awkward silence for a moment, neither sensei nor student knowing what to say.

"Astra?" Wu got a hold of her attention. She looked up at him. "I appreciate how you continue to train," he said. "I know it must be hard."

She "nodded" her head, although it was side-to-side rather than the regular up-down nod. "Not that much right now. I feel a lot better than usual, although I'm surprised by that."

"But why do you try so hard to act like nothing is wrong? Surely the ninja and kunoichi will find out some time, right?"

She nodded. "Yeah. But I don't know when…"

Wu sighed. It wasn't going to be easy to tell his other students, but he knew Astra would tell him to do it.

"Sensei," the yellow kunoichi spoke up. "I train as hard as I do so that I can keep up with them. I don't want them to get a feeling that anything is wrong. I want to help all of you, but I don't know if I'll be able to…" Her head fell down, looking at the floor.

Wu smiled. "I have an idea of how to help you, and Zane has the same idea. Misako agrees with us as well. It's our only hope to get you back to normal."

"And what's that? Zane was telling me a while ago that he had an idea too."

Wu did not like this idea being their only hope, but it was the only thing they could do. "It…it involves the kunoichi of life, Zoe, learning healing powers and then being able to heal you." He felt like he couldn't help her enough simply because relying on the newest kunoichi to learn quickly and pick everything up fast was not a good idea.

Astra sighed. "I had a feeling it would come to that. Let's just hope Zoe can learn healing soon."

"Astra. I know this is not a very happy or encouraging question, but it is necessary to know. Do you know how much time is left?"

Astra looked down again, having no clue what to say. She saw her Blade on the floor and suddenly had the urge to pick it up and ask. She bent over and picked her Blade up.

 _I know, I know. You want me to tell you the answer to his question, right?_ it asked her.

 _Yes,_ she replied.

 _Well, I'd say a couple weeks, maybe three._

Astra was horrified and shocked. She didn't say anything more to the Blade, but kept it in her hand. "My Blade s-said that I have…two or three weeks left."

Sensei Wu's expression turned grave. "That is not much time, but we will have to make do with it. From today onwards, Zoe's training will be focused on unlocking healing powers." He turned to leave. "Also, one last question. When do you want the others to know?"

She gritted her teeth and thought of an answer. She got the answer, and she mustered up the courage to say it. "Tomorrow."

He nodded and left without another word.

The next person Wu was going to talk to was Reyna, who happened to be on her way to the kunoichi's room. Luckily, she was alone, so no one would interfere. If someone like Cole or Nya was with her, then things might get a little troublesome. She looked up and saw her Sensei walking out from her room.

"Oh! Sensei Wu! What were you doing in there?" she asked.

He gave her a fake smile to buy some time to make up a lie. Yes, he lies as well. "I was talking to Astra. A sensei has to talk to his or her students to maintain friendly relations."

Reyna chuckled. "Yeah, they do."

There was an awkward pause like he had with Astra. Then Wu's expression turned serious. "About this afternoon, Reyna," he began, and the teal kunoichi already began to frown. "Why did you persist so much to beat Nya? It was only a practice fight."

She shrugged before giving her answer. "I was taught that persistence and determination are good qualities to have."

Wu got an "aha!" moment in his head. "That is correct, but sometimes persistence for the wrong thing is not a good quality. For example, if a person is determined to hurt someone else for revenge, that is not good."

She scowled and thought for a moment before saying anything else. "So you think I was being persistent for the wrong reason?" There was a hint of anger and aggression in her voice.

Wu shook his head. "I will not say whether that was a good or bad reason. Being persistent to beat Nya in a fight may make an enmity and cause jealousy and aggression that nobody wants to see. Now, if you still want to beat her, then you have to train towards it. That kind of determination is much better than trying multiple times on the same day."

The words her sensei just said sunk began to sink in. It made sense, and if the goal she had in mind was to beat Nya, then she would have to train to it, rather than trying over and over to the same result. She finally nodded. "Alright, thanks, Sensei. I'm glad you were able to knock some sense into me."

Wu nodded. "I was only trying to help you, and I am glad I could."

They both walked their ways, Reyna to her room and Sensei Wu off to his. He started thinking about the kunoichi again. _So Reyna's mental obstacle is not very difficult to figure out. However, Astra does not seem to have any. Maybe her obstacle_ is _a physical one._

And then he thought about Nya and Brisa. Nya's, he had a vague idea about, but Brisa just didn't show anything…

* * *

Kai was looking for someone to talk to and thought there wouldn't be anyone better than Brisa. Jay wouldn't shut up about Nya a few minutes ago, Cole had went to go lift his weights, and Zane…well, he was Zane. He figured the silver kunoichi would be at her favourite place on the Bounty: the deck. He went out, and sure enough, he saw Brisa there, standing at the rail, taking no notice that he was there.

"Hey, Brisa," he walked up to her. When she didn't say anything, he tried again. "Brisa?"

That got her out of her thoughts. She turned around to see the red ninja standing there. "Hey, Kai." She managed a smile, but Kai could see through it. Something was off about her.

"Something wrong?" he asked her gently.

She shrugged. "Not really." Her voice. It gave it all away. Something _was_ wrong.

The red ninja sighed. "Look, Brisa, you're not going to feel better knowing that nobody can help you. Why don't you tell me?"

Brisa sighed. "If you say so. Ever since I got here, I've been worrying about my parents. They were angry at me when I left, right? Remember that?" When Kai realized she was actually expecting an answer, he quickly nodded. "Well, I sent them a letter a few days after I got here, saying that I was fine and you guys were taking good care of me and stuff. I also told them not to be angry at me because parents should let their kids choose what they want to do with their life. At least, that's the freedom I'd like, but their belief is different. And earlier today when the mailman came, everyone there asked me why I never got any mail, so I had to lie to them," she remembered her conversation from earlier. "I just…don't feel right knowing my parents don't like the decision I took. I want us all to be happy, and I can't be happy knowing they're not."

There was a long silence before anyone spoke again. Then Kai smiled. "You know, this is the perfect time to say stuff like this. Like, not right now now, but I mean the time that we have before all of you unlock your true potentials. All we're going to be training, so it's not like we can't train while the Bounty is in motion."

Brisa narrowed her eyes. "What are you trying to say?"

"I'm saying that now is the perfect time to make amends with your parents!" he beamed. He didn't add the part that the gap between Brisa and her parents' relationship might be what she needs to overcome to unlock her true potential.

The kunoichi of wind took a long time to think before saying anything more. The fire ninja, for once, was patient. "I guess you're right. I'll talk to Sensei and the others about it tomorrow."

Kai smiled, happy that he could help Brisa. "Well, I'll head back inside. See you tomorrow."

Brisa nodded in acknowledgement. The red ninja turned around before the silver kunoichi stopped him one last time. "Oh, Kai?"

He stopped and turned around again. "Hm?"

She took a few steps forward and gave a quick kiss on his cheek, the first either of them had done. "Thanks for all the help," she said with a smile, and she truly meant it.

Kai began to blush, praying that the darkness of the night didn't let her see the colour. "Oh, uh, no problem," he mumbled. He waved and turned around and began to walk away quickly, while the kunoichi giggled quietly.

* * *

Nya was making a repair to the ship's boosters, and naturally, she got Jay to help her. The blue ninja looked quite bored today because his girlfriend didn't seem interested in talking about anything besides the task at hand. "Hey, Nya, what do you think of Zoe so far?" he asked so the bridge wouldn't be dead silent.

"She seems nice," was the only reply he got out of her. Jay frowned. Something was bugging her. He could tell.

"Uh, is something wrong, Nya?" he asked cautiously.

"Oh, well…" she sighed, getting ready to speak. "That spar with Reyna in the afternoon is bugging me. I don't know why she kept getting up to try and beat me. There was some look in her eyes that told me she wasn't going to give up, and I don't get why she wanted to beat me so badly. Is it something I said to her before, or did to her? I can't remember saying or doing anything that may have offended her anytime recently. So I guess that's what's bothering me, and why I seemed distant and didn't talk to you here like we normally do."

Jay seemed relieved that it wasn't a huge problem they were dealing with. Hopefully, if Nya ever asks Reyna about the topic, neither of the kunoichi will blow up at each other and cause a ruckus on the Bounty. "Phew. I'm glad it's just a small problem."

She scowled at her boyfriend. "What do you mean 'small problem'? What if she secretly hates me and I don't know that? As the leader of the kunoichi, I should be able to solve the problems that we have!" Nya accidentally raised her voice towards the end, scaring Jay a little. She sighed. "Sorry. I got carried away."

Jay shrugged. "It's alright. But don't worry. I don't think Reyna hates you, but might just want to be better than you. It's understandable I suppose."

The cyan kunoichi shrugged as well. "Hopefully that's all it is."

* * *

 **Everyone will learn about Astra's secret tomorrow. They'll (most likely) be heading to Brisa's hometown again tomorrow. Someone will make an appearance tomorrow as well (tomorrow in the story, not real time...). It's going to be a bit of a busy day for them. Can you guess who's coming? Might be obvious to some/most of you.**

 **Hope you liked it!**


	32. Cold Days

**I was finally able to make an at-least-decent chapter title after quite a while. They haven't been good for a while in my opinion, but I don't think it matters too much.**

 **In this chapter, you are introduced to the guest along with some drama. Now this character's arrival will cause even more drama in later episodes! Hope you like it!**

* * *

Chapter 32: Cold Days

It was the next morning in Ninjago, and the people on the Bounty were already hustling around, not knowing they were in for a fairly busy day.

They started the day off with some morning stretches. Somehow, Sensei Wu woke up late while his students were waiting for him to do the stretches, so it started later than usual.

While they were doing their stretches, the ninja and kunoichi saw a man climb up onto the ship. Their two sensei had their bodies turned a different way, and could likely not see the man.

"Sensei Wu! Misako! Another intruder!" Nya cried out to the two. They looked over and saw the man climb over the rail and stepped onto the deck. The ninja and kunoichi, wanting to defend the Bounty, ran up in front of him.

"He can't take us all out at once!" Kai said in a motion that meant he was ready to fight. The man looked at him with narrowed eyes but didn't say anything.

"Yeah! Are you here to take us down all alone?" Cole challenged.

"Wait!" they heard both Wu and Misako's voice from behind. The two stepped up and took a closer look at the man. Both Wu and Misako found their eyes widening in shock. It couldn't be…

"Garmadon!" Misako gasped and covered her mouth.

"Brother…" Wu mumbled quietly.

"It's been a long time, both of you," he said with a sad smile.

Lloyd interrupted. "Wait. You two know him? How?!"

"Of course I know them, Lloyd," he replied. "I'm Garmadon, your father."

The ninja and kunoichi were shocked, but none of them were more shocked than Lloyd. "D-dad?" he stuttered. "That's…that's you when you're not evil?"

He nodded. "Yes, Lloyd, I am your dad."

"That doesn't explain how you know Misako," Reyna said sharply.

"How would I not know Misako? She is my wife. Lloyd, your mother." Now, the look on Lloyd's face was beyond shocked. When he noticed this, he added, "Did she not tell you that?" Lloyd wouldn't respond, so he turned to Misako. "You didn't tell him that, did you?"

Misako's eyes widened more and now she looked at her son. He looked like she owed him an explanation at the very least. "No…" was all that she could manage to choke out. She was supposed to tell Lloyd, but she ruined it herself. She knew she shouldn't have kept it a secret.

Lloyd was seething at her. "You're my mom? Who would've known that my mom was living in the same place as I was for so many days and weeks? Why?" he asked with a tear coming from his eye. "Why didn't you TELL ME?!" His voice rose significantly on those last two words.

Brisa backed away from the group. "I think we should let family problems be solved in the family," she said as she stepped back farther.

"I agree," Zane said. "Family problems can only be solved by the family and not anyone else." He followed Brisa's lead and walked back as well.

"I'm surprised you know, Zane," Jay muttered as he and the rest of the ninja and kunoichi not a part of the biological family walked back inside.

"Well, we get to miss stretching," Zoe said rather calmly with a hint of a smile. She didn't like the stretches they did, and she definitely didn't like seeing Lloyd angry like that.

When Misako was sure the ninja and kunoichi had gone inside, she answered Lloyd's questions. "Lloyd, I wanted to tell you, I really did. But there was something inside of me that stopped me. It was because I didn't even know my own son well enough. I wanted to get to know you better, and for you to know me better, but I know you would've certainly not opened up fully, thinking I was just a friend of your uncle Wu, and not anything more." She was close to tears, so ashamed of herself for not telling Lloyd sooner. But who was to blame her? She had a valid point, and nobody had expected Garmadon to suddenly show up.

Garmadon bit his tongue, well aware of the mess he had caused unknowingly and unintentionally. His son's expression would not soften.

Meanwhile, Wu felt like he shouldn't be here. Yes, he was brother to Garmadon, but he believed he should only step in if asked.

"You had plenty of opportunities to tell me that," Lloyd said strongly and without hesitation. "But you chose not to. Why?"

Misako sighed; a tear fell down her face. She already answered that question, but Lloyd didn't seem to notice, so she repeated what she said. "I didn't think the time was right. I thought I would talk to you more, and you with me. But I knew it would seem strange to you because I was just a random woman that you happened to live in the same place as. I wasn't anything special to you, was I?"

The green ninja furrowed his eyebrows and then nodded. "Yeah. You weren't. And you still aren't." He walked off to head inside dangerously calmly, leaving Wu, Misako, and Garmadon behind. But then he stopped. "Why did you leave me?" he whispered. Nobody could hear what he said, but they knew he said something.

"Um, what was that?" Garmadon asked lightly.

"Why did you abandon me?" he said in a much louder tone that scared the three for a second. He still didn't turn around.

Now Misako really began to cry, but she did it silently so it wouldn't reach Lloyd's ears. "When I found out you would become the green ninja and fight your father in the final fight, I left you at Darkley's Boarding School so that I could go research to see if there was any way to stop it. But as you know, I never made it back on time, and I never found a way to prevent it either!"

Lloyd did not even nod to acknowledge that he heard her explanation. He just walked back inside without saying anything else. Even after Lloyd was gone, there was still silence except for Misako's crying and sniffling.

"It's all my fault," Garmadon said sadly and lowered his head. "I shouldn't have brought it up. I should've lied before finding out if you had told him."

"No, it's not your fault," Misako said fiercely. Her tears had stopped. "It's mine. If you lied in your answer, Lloyd would've been even angrier if we brought it up later. He would've been angry at you too if you lied. It was better that it was done now."

Wu sighed. "I just wish it could've been said in such a way that wouldn't have made Lloyd so angry…"

"No, Wu. Lloyd has every right to be angry at me," his sister-in-law told him. "I should've told him earlier. And m-maybe…" Her throat felt dry and she broke down in tears again. Garmadon put a hand on her shoulder. "Maybe I shouldn't have tried to play around with destiny!"

Wu and Garmadon were stunned. They hadn't seen Misako like this since they were kids and they did something behind her back that she wouldn't have approved of. To be fair, however, they hadn't seen her in years.

"And you!" Misako lashed out at Garmadon with her words. "Where have you been since the final battle? A lot of time has come and went since then!"

Garmadon swallowed back. "I didn't know where I was myself. I don't have any memories of the past few months, or years, or however long has passed. It's almost as if I died and came back alive. But as soon I could, I wanted to come here."

Wu sighed on the inside. _Time heals all wounds..._ he thought.

* * *

Back inside, Kai saw Lloyd enter with an angry face, so he sought to make him happier. "Hey, Lloyd, up for a game or two of _Fist to Face 2_?"

Lloyd looked his way, then looked ahead again. "No, you can go ahead if you want."

Yup. He was definitely still angry because Lloyd almost never turned down a good round of video games. Failing to cheer his brother up, the red ninja didn't really feel like playing anymore either, not when he knew there was tension between Lloyd and Misako.

The adults soon walked into the Bounty as well, acting like nothing happened by giving Garmadon a quick tour of the ship. He seemed impressed that such an old ship could be used like this. He seemed to have forgotten the old Bounty was destroyed, but what he didn't know was that this was a new version.

Shortly after, a meeting was called for in the bridge of the ship. It seemed like there were some announcements to be made.

"Brisa, would you like to make your announcement first?" Wu asked the silver kunoichi after everyone had gathered around. Surprised that her sensei knew, she looked at Kai and saw him nod, indicating that he was indeed the one who told Sensei Wu.

"Um, yeah, sure," she said. "So, uh, I know I may have said something different to some of you," she said as she looked at Jay, Cole, Reyna, Astra, and Zoe, "but this is the real reason why my parents never write to me. They're angry at me. Everyone that was at my house the day you guys came to our town probably knew that they were upset with my decision to do what I wanted to, which, of course, was to become the kunoichi of wind. However, a few days after I got settled here, I sent a letter to them, telling them not to be angry at my decision. Their response was an angry letter at me that I never replied to. I know they're still angry which is why I decided that…maybe we can head back over to my house so that I can speak to them and make them understand?" Brisa looked pleadingly.

Nya nodded. "Sure! And if you need any help to do that, we're all behind you! Right, everyone?"

Everyone nodded enthusiastically with a chorus of "yeah!" and other similar words.

Wu nodded happily. "I'm glad you could make an informed decision, Brisa. It is good that you realized it and sought to make amends with your parents."

Kai was smiling and furrowed his eyebrows and looked at his sensei when he thought it was Brisa who made the decision, when in actuality it was the red ninja that gave the idea. He saw the silver kunoichi give a smug smile to him. Still, he remained silent.

"I'll set the course for Edgeham right now," Nya volunteered. After the pressing of some buttons, everyone could feel the Bounty lift up into the sky. They were on their way.

"And now we have another announcement, and this one is from Astra," Wu announced to the group. Everyone turned to the yellow kunoichi who was biting her lip from nervousness.

"Don't worry, I'll help you if you need it," Zane whispered quietly in her ear.

She nodded and got ready to speak. "Ummmm…how do I start this? There's no easy way to put it, but…I'm dying."

There was silence in the room until Jay chuckled non-humorously. "Uh, you're joking, right?"

Astra's face said otherwise. It was as serious (and scared) as it could be.

The blue ninja put his hands up in surrender. "Okay, I believe you."

"And how is this happening?!" Reyna cried out. "You're not just going to…die, right?"

Both Zane and Astra were confused, and they could tell everyone else was as well. "Would you care to elaborate?"

Reyna looked like she was punched in the stomach, ready to cry. "I mean…how do you know? What's happening?"

Nya nodded in agreement. "How w-would that just happen? And why did you never tell us?!" The cyan kunoichi's tone rose on the second sentence she said.

Astra put up her hands like she was trying to defend herself. "I know you'll probably hate me for keeping this away from you guys for so long," she gestured towards the kunoichi. "B-but…" She sighed, not at all prepared to say what she had to. "I have a disease. It's deadly, I'm sure we know that diseases can be deadly. A-and…my Blade, Rayseeker, said that I don't have much longer left…it predicts maybe two-two..." But Astra couldn't finish saying the final word. She tried holding back her tears, but they burst out.

"Two what?" Brisa asked with her eyes wide in shock.

"She was trying to say two weeks," Zane finished the sentence very quietly with his eyes looking at the floor. Silence, except for Astra's weeping on Zane's shoulder, filled the ship once again.

However, the silence was broken by an exploding Kai. "Astra!" he boomed, and the kunoichi looked over at the red ninja. "Why didn't you ever tell us about this? We might've been able to do something then! How are we supposed to do anything now if you only have two weeks left?!"

Seeing Kai's rage, Astra began to cry again, but she was cut short by a fall to the ground.

It had begun.

* * *

 **Oh no! What happened to Astra? And Kai, you idiot, why would you yell at her? Lloyd is angry at Misako (and possibly Garmadon, we'll see). It may take a while for Lloyd to forgive her, but let's see how it eventually happens. Also, did you notice how Misako didn't even say "I miss you" or anything like that? What does that mean?**

 **Hope you liked it!**


	33. Rising Frustration

**This chapter took a bit longer because it was actually pretty hard for me to think of what to write. Maybe I should plan what's going to happen next so that I don't get stuck like this. I also have a tendency to start doing other things when I'm stuck and don't know what to do in...well...anything.**

 **Chapter title is because a bunch of characters are feeling frustrated like Zoe, Misako, Lloyd, and maybe more. We'll see.**

 **Anyways, hope you like it!**

* * *

Chapter 33: Rising Frustration

Astra collapsed to the ground, possibly falling in fear or shock from Kai's anger. Everyone else was scared as they watched her fainted body on the floor.

Zane was the first to react. He bent down to pick her up from her back to place her on her bed. However, Cole, seeing Zane do that, got the same idea and scooped her up easily while the nindroid had struggled to pick her up for the few seconds he had the chance to do so. Cole ran straight for her room and placed her gently on her bed while Zane and a few others rushed behind.

Still in the bridge, Nya was furious with Kai. "Why did you have to yell at her like that?!" the cyan kunoichi yelled at her brother.

"Yeah, she was already scared of telling us, but you just had to go and make her feel even more scared!" Brisa scolded the red ninja as well.

Jay nodded. "Yeah, I agree with Nya and Brisa. You shouldn't have done that, Kai."

Kai glared at them, silent for a bit before saying anything. "Why would she hide something that big from us all? It doesn't make sense to do something like that!"

"That's kind of true too…" Lloyd said slowly and in such a manner that he didn't want them to hear.

Kai nodded. "If there's a problem, there's no point in keeping it to yourself. Telling others will help, and we're all like family anyways!"

"But maybe she wanted to get to know us better so that she'd better understand our reactions," Reyna suggested just to make it seem like Kai did the wrong thing by yelling at Astra.

Nya was still angry at her brother. "It doesn't matter why she kept it from us. What matters is that you made someone who already felt bad and scared feel even worse! That's not good. I'd recommend you apologize when Astra's up again."

Brisa nodded in Nya's direction. "Couldn't agree more. You should apologize, Kai."

Kai glared at the kunoichi again as silence passed as the girls' looks pressed on him. At last, he sighed, showing a sign that he had given up. "Yeah, alright. I'll do that later."

Inside the kunoichi's room, everyone was worried about what to do.

"What should we do?" Zoe asked nervously, trying to fit in. She liked to see her friends and family happy, not in pain or sadness like Astra was.

"There is only one thing we can do," Sensei Wu answered. "We can only let her rest until she wakes up."

Everyone nodded in agreement. "Yes, let Astra rest," Misako repeated. "Somebody should stay around here just in case, perhaps in the room or just outside." While she was saying this, she was looking at Zane.

Understanding what Misako was getting towards, the white ninja nodded. "Yes, I will stay outside the room in case Astra wakes up. But what are the rest of you going to do?"

"I believe it is time for some training," Wu replied once again. "We will all head out on to the deck. Tell us if you need anything." Zane nodded again as well.

Everyone shuffled out of the room slowly and quietly, leaving the door open behind them.

"Come, everybody," Sensei Wu announced when he got outside. "You missed your training before, so it is time to do it now."

The ninja and kunoichi muttered amongst themselves, not wanting to train. All the tension that was created not even an hour ago spoiled their mood. Regardless, they obeyed. All of them, except for Zane, headed outside to the deck to do their daily training.

Once they were there, Wu turned around to face all of them. "I know you do not feel like training. Not when there are some obvious problems on the Bounty that need to be fixed amongst us all, but you must do it if you want any chance. Especially you, Zoe."

Her new friends turned to look at her expectantly. "W-why me?" she asked nervously, not liking how she suddenly became the center of attention.

"Why you? It is because you are the only hope for Astra," her Sensei explained.

"And why is that?" Lloyd asked impatiently, hoping that his uncle would hurry up and get to the point.

"Remember when we were discussing what powers Zoe may have as the kunoichi of life?" Misako jogged everyone's memory. "It's very likely she'll be able to learn healing powers. And those healing powers may be exactly what Astra needs."

Zoe didn't like how much or all of the burden was on her shoulder. Wu, sensing her distress, smiled at her to try and comfort her. "Don't worry, Zoe. We all will try and help you as much as we can."

"But in the end, it's all up to me anyways, right?" she countered.

Admitting that much of Astra's fate was in Zoe's hands, Wu gave up and instead turned to some exercises. Afterwards, they helped Zoe train by trying to heal a cut Jay had gotten from the wood of the deck. She didn't make much progress, but it was too minor of a cut for Jay to really notice anyways.

"How can I heal something?" the pink kunoichi protested. "I don't even know how to heal anything!"

"Patience is key," Garmadon said all of a sudden. He had been quiet the whole time and this was the first time he had spoken up since he came on the Bounty. "Healing is difficult, but there are some tips and tricks I can give you to help out if they do."

"Which are?" Zoe prompted.

Garmadon cleared his throat. "Erm, well, they won't help right now, but after you get a bit more experienced with your training and can use some other power, it will be easier, of course. You will know how to use your healing powers then."

Everybody was dumbfounded. "So I can only learn to heal after I learn some other unique ability?!" Zoe practically screamed.

Garmadon shook his head quickly. "No – I mean, yes, maybe, but there are some other pointers I can give you. Happiness. What I think you as the kunoichi should value most is happiness for yourself and others. Just based on your personality, I can guess that you like to be happy, and you like seeing others happy. And that, Zoe, is what I think you should be looking for when trying to heal. If someone is hurt, then you may be able to heal them by imagining they are happy."

Everyone was stunned by the advice Garmadon had just given. Garmadon, who was just Lord Garmadon not too long ago with evil running through his body, had talked about happiness being a key to unlocking a power.

However, Wu had to break the silence. "It is quite possible that what Garmadon is saying is true. Maybe that is the key to unlocking your potential to heal, Zoe."

Zoe nodded even though it was a bit too much for her to take in. "Then should I try to heal that cut Jay has?"

Misako tilted her head from side to side before answering. "I don't think Jay is particularly sad by that cut. It's very minor and will fade in a few days."

Jay nodded in agreement. "Yup, I'm as happy as ever! There's no need to heal me." He gave a sad face because Zoe wouldn't be able to test out Garmadon's theory.

Zoe nodded in acknowledgement. "Yeah, I guess you're right." After no one said anything, she decided to add something. "So, now what?"

Sensei Wu shrugged, which was a rare sighting. "I suppose all of you will train for a bit longer. And then, hopefully, we can sort out some problems here." When he said this, he was looking at Lloyd, who looked like he was ready to forgive for a second but that look was followed by a look of anger shot at his mother's way.

And so they trained for another hour. This time, however, instead of focusing on healing, Zoe focused on her physical strength by attempting the training course, which took up too much space for the others to train. Seeing how they couldn't train, the other ninja and kunoichi watched and guided the pink kunoichi through the course.

* * *

After training, everyone was exhausted. Zoe had made some progress on the training course, being able to get past the first part of it, but it seemed to the others it was a while before she could master it.

The three adults, Wu, Garmadon, and Misako, decided they would head to the kunoichi's room to see if Astra was up. To their delight, she had just woken up and was sitting on her bed, Zane on the bed across from her.

"Hello, Sensei, Misako, and Lord…er, I mean, uh…how shall I address you?" Zane stood up and addressed Garmadon awkwardly.

Garmadon smiled. "You can call me Garmadon if you'd like, sensei in front of it or not, it doesn't matter to me."

The white ninja smiled back but had nothing more to say to him. "How did Zoe's training go? Any progress on healing?"

Wu shook his head. "Although Garmadon did give her some good advice, she wasn't able to use it. Perhaps some more time is what she needs. And what about you, Astra? How do you feel?"

"Weak," she replied and finally turned her head to look at them. By her voice, they could all very well tell that she wasn't lying.

"Maybe you need some food," Misako suggested. "People can feel weak if they haven't eaten in a while."

Astra shrugged and turned around again. Her head tilted downwards. "I don't feel like eating."

While Astra was still looking down, Zane mouthed something to the adults. "Effects of the disease," is what they made out.

"Well…we'll be back in a bit," Misako informed hurriedly. "We need to…talk to the ninja and kunoichi."

Zane nodded and Astra did as well, but with her head still turned around. As soon as they left, she went back to sleep. Zane, knowing she would want to be alone while she slept right now, left the room quietly and closed the door behind him.

He figured everyone would either be in the kitchen, living room, or bridge. He checked the first place and found only Cole and Jay snacking, and they asked how Astra was doing and whether she woke up. Then, for some reason, they apologized on Kai's behalf for yelling at the yellow kunoichi, which the ice ninja responded to by saying, "I can understand why he was angry."

He went to the living room and found no one, so he headed to the bridge. There, as he guessed, was everyone else.

"Oh! Zane! Did Astra wake up?" the nindroid heard Kai say who was walking towards him.

Zane half nodded. "Yes and no."

The red ninja rolled his eyes. "Can you give a proper answer?" He didn't like Sensei Wu's riddles, and his own teammate making riddles didn't help liken them anymore.

"Well, she woke up for a few minutes, but she went back to sleep now, which is why I am here. Any reason why you ask?"

Kai hesitated before speaking. "Um, well, yeah…I wanted to say sorry for getting angry at her earlier this morning."

Zane gave a nod that gave Kai some vibes that the ice ninja was hoping to hear that. "Yes, Cole and Jay said sorry on your behalf just moments ago."

Kai rolled his eyes again. "Those two…why would they do that? It was my fault, so I should be the one to do it!"

"Boys, boys…" Wu sighed as he entered the bridge. "Yes, Kai, you must say sorry to Astra, but we have other pressing concerns as well."

Zane scanned the room. "Like why Lloyd isn't here?"

The sensei nodded. "Yes. We need to find him. At once."

Kai snorted. "It's pretty obvious, isn't it? He'd be playing video games or reading comics on his bed or something."

The nindroid shook his head. "No, Kai. Lloyd is not playing video games. There was nobody there when I walked by."

"And he's not in his room either," Garmadon said as he popped in the bridge suddenly.

"Then wouldn't he be outside?" Zoe asked. "On the deck?"

"That's probably where he is if he's nowhere else on the Bounty," Nya said with a sigh. It was quite obvious.

Kai turned to look at the two brothers. "Yeah, come on guys, you're smart and wise. Why couldn't you think of something as simple as that?"

Neither Wu nor Garmadon responded, and instead, they turned around to go on to the deck. Misako was already there, trying to talk to Lloyd, who stared out at the clouds moving past them as the Bounty was still sailing through the air.

"Come on, Lloyd," Misako was begging her son. "Please give me another chance! I didn't want to leave you!"

Lloyd glanced an eye at her, but he seemed to have no intent on speaking to his mother. Not for a while, at least.

"Please Lloyd! None of us want you to be angry! At least talk to me!" she was pleading again.

Lloyd gave an angry sigh, but he quickly cooled down. "If time heals all wounds," he said. "Then let time heal this one." With that, he got up and walked back inside to do who knows what.

* * *

 **Yeah. Kind of filler. Sorry. I mentioned before obviously that I didn't know what to write so I'm definitely going to plan out some chapter ideas until the story is done, so the next chapter may not come too soon. I also have schoolwork and stuff to do and one thing in particular is going to be a huge pain...**

 **Hope you liked it!**


	34. Heartbroken

**Sorry for the long one month wait! I was super busy the past few weeks and also had to plan which set me back a lot because I didn't know what to write. However, I did finally plan the rest of the story (not much detail in it yet, unfortunately. Will need to work on that). This story actually doesn't have much more to go to be quite honest, maybe another 8-10 chapters I'm guessing. I won't know until I get there but the amount of detail I have in my planning doc (read: very little) would probably rush me through the last stretch of the story. However, there is still some time to go before the story is done, so enjoy till then!**

* * *

Chapter 34: Heartbroken

After Lloyd stormed back inside, Wu decided it would be time for the kunoichi to train again, especially Zoe. Not necessarily happy about it, the pink kunoichi went inside to ask Lloyd if he wanted to watch and guide her, but to her disappointment, the green ninja refused the offer. She got the feeling he didn't want to be around his mother, not for a while at least at the rate they were making progress.

Trying not to look too sad in front of him, she walked back inside and saw Wu leading some stretches for them.

"Sensei, do we have to do these stretches too?" she heard Kai complain as she walked outside. "We've done them a million times!"

"Then a million and one will not hurt," his Sensei responded so easily.

Jay started doing the motions, but quickly got an idea. "Ow!" he yelped as he tried stretching his leg. "It did hurt!"

The ninja and kunoichi chuckled lightly so Sensei Wu wouldn't hear, but he seemed to pay no attention to Jay's pain, real or fake.

When the blue ninja saw that his teacher didn't believe him, he lowered his head and shook it.

"Just do them," Zoe said as she walked by him. He nodded in defeat.

Afterwards, the kunoichi trained while the ninja tried helping them. Zoe's training for the afternoon was physical exercising, which meant repeated exercises such as push-ups, sit-ups, jogging around the deck, and, of course, the training course they all loved to hate.

It wasn't very hard for Zoe to reach Sensei Wu's goal of how long she should do each exercise…they were low like they were for anyone who was just starting physical training. Later, she was given a lesson by Wu and Misako about what her powers could possibly be.

"Your powers will mostly have defensive uses," Misako told Zoe, who seemed sad that she wouldn't be able to help much in attacking like the rest of her friends could.

"This is all just theory, right?" the pink kunoichi asked with raised eyebrows. "You don't know for sure, right?"

Wu and Misako whispered to each other before saying anything else. "Yes, of course," Wu said. "Although with a power such as life…I cannot imagine many offensive uses for it, such as fire or water."

Nya rolled her eyes at his remark. "When will they stop acting like they know it, and then say they don't?"

"You have that right," Reyna confirmed. "Why are they trying to guess? Just let her see for herself!"

Zoe got no further instructions from anyone afterward. She would explore her own powers by herself. "Um, but how can I try doing something if I don't even know what that something is?"

"The ninja and kunoichi seem intent on letting you find out yourself," Misako told her.

The kunoichi of life shot a look at her figurative brothers and sisters. Then she turned back to her teachers. "Any possibilities? Hints? Anything that can help me do what I need to?"

"Perhaps you should focus on your healing," Garmadon said as he just walked on to the deck, overhearing what Zoe said.

"But what do I heal?"

Garmadon shrugged. "That may be for you to find out."

Zoe rolled her eyes. She would've never imagined that training would be so…mysterious. Hard, yes. But as confusing and mysterious as this? Definitely not. Eventually, she sighed and put up her hands. "Whatever. I'll try what I can, but I doubt I'll make any progress at all today considering I have no idea what I'm supposed to be doing."

"Perhaps you should try thinking of a defensive move during a fight," Zane said. "Then try seeing if that is something practical that your power would allow you to do."

Everyone was impressed, especially Zoe and the teachers. But, Zane was a robot, meaning his intelligence was higher than most people's.

"So like what?" Zoe asked for suggestions.

"Maybe…I don't know…" Brisa mumbled. "A shield of life?"

"Sounds like it would stop the Dead," Cole mused. "I mean, that makes sense, doesn't it?"

Everyone looked at him a bit oddly, but the odd looks turned into faces that looked like he was saying something reasonable.

"But what would that even do to stop them…" Nya muttered.

The earth ninja shrugged. "I don't know, I was just giving what I thought might happen. Not saying that's true, because obviously we have no idea what we're supposed to be doing!"

"But it's worth a shot," Misako budged in with a smile. "I think trying to do something like that would be great!"

For the next hour or so, Zoe practiced on making a shield of life, as Brisa had suggested. Everyone encouraged her and gave her advice, but she made very little progress. She was able to reach the surface of her powers with small glints of light, but not much else, but progress was progress. That was until the silver kunoichi herself remembered something. "Wait, Nya, why haven't we reached my town yet?"

Nya looked surprised. "Um…." She quickly ran over to the rail and didn't see anything beneath them, then looked ahead and saw nothing as well. She looked behind them and saw what could very well have been her town.

"We passed her town and had no idea about it?" Nya spoke almost to herself.

"What happened, Nya?" Jay called out to his girlfriend.

The cyan kunoichi turned around. "Looks like we passed the town a while ago," she explained. "I guess we all forgot we were headed somewhere."

"We should probably turn around..." Brisa muttered to herself.

Nya nodded. "Yup, I'll go turn it around right now. Sorry about that!" The kunoichi of water dashed inside to turn the ship around.

"All of you can take a break," Wu told the ninja and kunoichi. They were all relieved, especially Zoe, and they headed inside to just relax until they reached Edgeham, Brisa's hometown.

Everyone felt the ship make a sharp turn once they were back inside. Well under an hour, the Bounty had landed at the outside of Edgeham.

Brisa looked nervous as she got off the Bounty and lead the group to her house once again. She didn't want her parents to be mad at her, but for that to happen, she would have to talk to them. Luckily, she had all her friends and sensei's' support behind her. Someone would be able to explain to them.

They reached Brisa's house and rang the doorbell that they couldn't hear from the outside. A couple moments later, her dad, Mr. Silvio, opened the door.

"Oh! Hi, Brisa! Glad you came back home in one piece!" He paused and noticed the group behind her. "And you brought more guests than last time, I see. I take it your mission to find the five female ninjas or whatever was successful?" he asked Wu.

"Yes, it indeed was," he nodded with a smile.

"Well come on in!" he told everyone. "Grandma and grandpa are home too."

"Oh, wow!" Brisa squealed with joy. "Haven't seen them in a while!" She pushed past her dad and ran inside her house. Everyone followed, although a lot less quick while Mr. Silvio invited them.

Nya elbowed Kai, who was walking next to her. "Isn't it weird how he was so mad at her when she left, but now he's all happy?"

Kai turned to his sister. "Maybe they had a change of heart? I don't know."

Brisa introduced her grandparents to the group and introduced everyone to them. Brisa's mom, Mrs. Silvio, also seemed quite happy.

"So, are you here to stay now?" Brisa's mom asked her.

"Stay?!" the silver kunoichi exclaimed. "Our mission barely started!"

"You mean to say there's still more to your mission?!" her dad asked with a heightening voice.

Wu nodded. "Yes, we still have to save the world. Only one part of our mission is done so far, which was to find the kunoichi of water, nature, light, wind, and life."

"Then why did you people come back?" Mrs. Silvio lashed out.

"T-to make amends," Brisa replied nervously.

"Make amends, huh?" Mr. Silvio snorted. "That won't happen easily."

"We know, but that's why we all came to help her," Kai told them smugly. Everyone except Zane and Astra were present.

"Well, we don't want to hear any of it," Brisa's dad shot back. "Just go back to your dragon ship, and next time, don't come back."

Silence filled the air as the words Brisa's father just spoke shocked everyone. To Brisa, it was like a devastating blow. Would her parents really let her go just because she wanted to choose her own life? She felt tears come to her eyes. She couldn't let her parents be so angry.

"How could you do something like that?!" Kai felt his blood boil.

"Yeah, she's not a little girl anymore!" Jay yelled at him.

"Just for choosing her own life, you'd disown her?!" Cole shouted.

"Mr. and Mrs. Silvio, I think we should all sit down and have a civilized conversation," Sensei Wu told the parents.

"I agree," the grandma said. "Let's listen to what they have to say."

Mr. Silvio turned around in shock. As much as he may not listen to someone younger than him, he would respect his elders. He looked back at Wu and narrowed his eyes. "Fine. We'll talk. In a civilized way."

Wu, Misako, and Garmadon all sat down from the ninja and kunoichi side while the parents and grandparents were seated on the other side of the room.

"So, Sensei Wu, what do you have to say?" Brisa's grandpa asked.

"Well, as my students shouted out, Brisa is not a little girl anymore," Wu explained gently. "She is old enough to know right from wrong, and is old enough to choose her own life, or at least a part of it."

Before the parents could give a reply, Garmadon budged in. "May I ask a question?" Mr. and Mrs. Silvio hesitantly nodded. "Why do you want Brisa to do exactly what you want her to do? Why not give her any freedom?"

"We are her parents, aren't we?" Mrs. Silvio answered the question with a rhetorical question. "Shouldn't we be able to tell her what to do?"

Garmadon sighed. The mentality the parents had was definitely not a good one. In older times, parents may have bossed around their children all the time, but the new generation was different, possibly much more rebellious in Garmadon's opinion.

"Why is it so hard to let her do what she wants to do?!" the red ninja exploded. "She might not want to be a kunoichi all her life, but maybe only for this small portion! We don't know that!"

Kai caught the silver kunoichi's gaze at her as she swallowed back a dry throat and looked sadly at him. Was he saying this because he didn't want to be with her? No, that wasn't possible. But he was probably right: Brisa didn't want to be a kunoichi all her life, but if she didn't, it would become much harder to stay in touch with Kai.

"Kai, please, stay calm," Misako advised the fire ninja.

A doorbell interrupted their talk and Mrs. Silvio got up to get it. She screamed when she opened the door. Everyone peered out the room to see what had happened and five men barged in and pushed aside Brisa's mom.

They entered the room and dropped Zane and Astra on the floor in front of them, who seemed to be unconscious.

"Zane! Astra!" Wu exclaimed in horror.

"What did you do to them?" Misako screamed at the men.

The ninja and kunoichi recognized the men: they were the Five, and five of them there were.

"Maybe shouldn't have left a weak girl and a robot left to guard your ship," Tylor said in his deep voice.

"How did you find us?" Lloyd said something for once.

"Yeah, there's no way you followed us!" Reyna shouted at them.

"Oh, it was quite simply, really," Palmer said with his signature grin. "_, here," he gestured to a man in a black hoodie, "Is an expert at tracking down fear and…how should I say it…destruction."

"But…there was no destruction here," Zoe said, scared of the man in a hoodie. He radiated a power that none of the others did, and terrified everyone a lot more as well. Lloyd could feel it a lot as well.

"Yes, but there was some…emotional destruction. We weren't even very far away," Jarle spoke now.

"You five…can get out of here!" Brisa's father tried to exert some confidence. "You were not invited here! This was supposed to be a family reunion!"

"A family reunion with breaking emotions, huh?" a man that they hadn't seen before said with a very…evil-sounding voice. "That's strange."

"Now if you'll excuse us, we'd like to take them away," Tylor said as he rushed forward and picked up Mr. Silvio. Mrs. Silvio, who was behind Jarle, was scooped up easily by him and they all darted out of the school.

"Mom! Dad!" Brisa screamed after them. "Bring them back!"

The ninja pulled their hoods down. "Looks like we need to get her parents back, boys," Cole said.

The kunoichi pulled their masks up much like the ninja had their hoods. "Let's go, girls!" Nya ordered. "We have some parents to save!"

"Wait! Before you go!" Wu shouted out. "Remember what I told you. They are extremely powerful!"

"We will stay here with the grandparents and Zane and Astra," Garmadon told them.

"Yes, you guys can carry on. Get Brisa's parents back in one piece!" Misako encouraged them.

"Yes, please do!" both grandparents said at the same time.

"Don't worry, grandpa and grandpa," Brisa assured them. "We'll bring them back."

* * *

 **This ending was actually unplanned for. I didn't have that as an idea, but I got it as I wrote and I thought it'd be much more interesting than what I was originally going to write. Makes for a fun ending, I think.**

 **Anyways, hope you liked it!**


	35. The Amazing Chase

**Back with another chapter! I got lazy until like Friday to write this, so that's why I didn't come earlier. It's still hard, thinking of details to not make every chapter super short and straight to the point. However, I think this chapter is a lot better than any I have written in a long time in terms of detail and vocabulary (for example, I tried using other words besides "said" or "asked" when a dialogue is spoken). I hope I continue writing like this, I actually like it a lot. Anyways, enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 35: The Amazing Chase

A chase started through the town, looking for the Five that had kidnapped Brisa's parents. The kunoichi gave themselves the task of telling everyone in the town to leave for a bit because there may or may not be destruction while the ninja chased the men down.

Minutes later, the attempt at trying to find them was near hopeless. People were streaming in and out of houses and other buildings, blocking the ninjas' sight.

The ninja heard a familiar cry above them. They looked up and were surprised to see the falcon, which usually was minding its own thing wherever it wanted. They got the feeling the falcon had known that they would need its help.

"How do we communicate to that thing without Zane?" Cole asked the others.

"Um, try anyways?" Jay replied half-heartedly. "Hey, falcon!" he shouted up at the robotic bird. "Could you help us? We need to find the Five!"

"Yeah, they look a lot more different than anyone else in the town! They're also carrying Brisa's parents on their back!" Kai yelled out at it.

The falcon seemed to have nodded, and then it flew off far ahead to find the captors of Brisa's parents.

"Should we split up?" Lloyd shouted over the noise that the people of the town were causing.

Cole nodded. "But go in pairs."

"I'll go with Kai," the blue ninja said quickly. Kai nodded and ran off with Jay, while Cole and Lloyd ran off in another direction.

After a few minutes of running, searching, tripping, and falling, Jay and Kai managed to find one of the Five: Palmer. It wasn't Jarle or Tylor, both of whom had taken away Brisa's parents, but they figured taking out one of them now would help them later.

Palmer was calm at noticing them. He was trapped against the wall in an alleyway, but both of the ninja were wary, knowing he must have some trick up his sleeve.

They approached cautiously when Palmer shot dark lightning from his hands right in front of their feet. The blast sent them both flying backwards. Then Palmer turned around and pressed his palm into the wall behind him, which happened to be a store. Jay heard a loud crack and saw his black lightning through the smoke surrounding them and figured he must've broke the wall behind him. He heard more cracks, less loud and farther away, as well as the screams of many people inside the store.

"Kai! Get up!" Jay shouted as his brother who was laying on the ground.

At the sound of his name, Kai's eyes fluttered open. He groaned in pain, but he wasn't heard by the blue ninja. He got up and saw that there was a piece of stone under where his back was and realized that's what a lot of his back pain must be from.

"You okay?" the lightning ninja asked him.

The red ninja grimaced. "Maybe. What happened over there, anyway?" Kai was pointing at the hole in the wall where Palmer was standing a minute ago.

The lightning ninja looked to where Kai was pointing and his face darkened. "Palmer broke that wall and entered the store. People were screaming inside."

Kai's eyes widened in shock. "The people! Weren't they supposed to evacuate?! We have to check what happened!"

Jay nodded and ran inside through the hole while Kai followed him. Inside, they saw dust still settling from the damage Palmer had caused. Some people were laying on the floor, either scared, dazed, or dead, the ninja couldn't tell.

"We let this happen," Jay said in a voice that almost wasn't his. His eyes were wide open, seeing all the people. There were still people that alive, of course, and there were a few standing up, although scared.

Kai sighed in anger. "Let's get them out first. Then we'll go find Palmer again, and this time, we're killing him."

Jay nodded. "Agree with that second part, but we really don't have time to help all these people! We have to stop him before he causes more destruction!"

Kai looked at the fearful people's faces. Then his head tipped down. "Sorry, everyone, but we have another job to do as well." With that, they ran out the front of the store and chased after Palmer.

* * *

On the other side of the town, Lloyd and Cole weren't having much better luck either. They ran into the man they hadn't seen before, but the one that wasn't wearing a hoodie. For this man, they could clearly see his face. He had red eyes and straight black hair with a bit of a flip up at the front. He was wearing dark red clothes.

"So, who are you?" Cole asked him.

"I am Allen, wielder of Dark Fire and Dark Wind," he replied with a raspy voice that made him sound all the more powerful than he already was.

"Where are Tylor and Jarle?" Lloyd snarled at him.

Allen seemed genuinely surprised by the confidence Lloyd was trying to muster. Still, it would do the green ninja no good in trying to act tough. In response, Allen simply shrugged. "I don't know. We split up to make it harder for you kids."

The two ninja narrowed their eyes at their enemy and got ready to fight. However, Allen simply stood the same way as he was when they saw him. Lloyd focused a ball of power and launched it at Allen, but with a swing of his hand, the One launched it into the air surrounded by his dark wind. In the air above them, it exploded into a shower mixed with dark purple and gold, the colour of the two elements just released. Before Cole and Lloyd could make another move, Allen threw two black fireballs at them, and the two ninja narrowly avoided it. Then he set the nearest building on fire and ran away.

"What if there are people inside?!" Cole shouted after him, but Allen didn't hear.

"No, that building is empty," Lloyd said. "I saw everyone come out from there. I doubt anyone's left inside."

"We still have to stop the fire!" Cole said. The fire was starting to spread through the building fast.

"I can help with that," a female voice said from behind them. They turned around to see Nya standing there.

"Nya! Glad you made it here!" Lloyd told her with happiness. "Could you take out the fire?"

She nodded. "Yep, I'll handle this. You guys go on ahead to help find Brisa's parents."

"Where are Reyna, Brisa, and Zoe?" the black ninja asked.

The cyan kunoichi shrugged. "I don't know. Somewhere, obviously. Probably searching for the Five as well."

Both of the ninja nodded. "We'll let you handle this," Cole told her.

"Yeah, we'll try finding that guy again," Lloyd added.

The black and green ninja parted from Nya while the cyan kunoichi used her powers over water to put out the fire. However, the water seemed to have little effect on the dark fire; it was only getting smaller bit by bit, but the longer it took, the greater the chances the fire would spread to another place. Realizing this, it put a lot of pressure on the kunoichi of water as she could feel anxiety associated with her biggest weakness: failure.

* * *

Reyna, Brisa, and Zoe were all travelling together. They knew that if they split up, they'd have no chance against any of the Five, so staying together was the best for all of them.

Knowing the town very well, Brisa lead them through places she wasn't expecting their enemies to easily spot them, such as small streets. Far to their right, they could see dark smoke going into the air, and they just hoped Nya could keep the fire under control.

To their left, however, they heard some faint voices yelling to let them go. Brisa instantly recognized the voices as her parents'. "Over here," she whispered to the other two kunoichi. They followed the voice slowly and cautiously and eventually saw where the voices were coming from. They saw Tylor, Jarle, and the last mysterious One, the most powerful one of them all.

Sensing they were being watched, the One whose name they didn't know turned around. "Oh, we have guests," he said in a very emotionless voice.

"Hey Tylor, take care of her," Jarle said as he tossed Brisa's mom over, who screamed while she was in the air. After Tylor caught her with one hand, Jarle got ready to fight.

"He's so ready to fight," Zoe whispered to Brisa and Reyna. "Why can't we take your parents without any fighting?"

"That's probably not going to happen…" Reyna bit her lip. "But why'd they take them in the first place?"

Jarle rolled his eyes. "If you want these parents back, it's not going to do you any good to stand and whisper to each other."

"We're not going to stand and whisper," Reyna stood tall. "We are going to fight!"

"Are you sure?!" Zoe asked alarmingly. "Even if we beat one, what are the chances we'll beat the other two?!"

"Zero!" the silver kunoichi loudly whispered.

"Well, we're doing it," the teal kunoichi said firmly. "We have to." She got out her Blade, Vinewhipper, and got ready to fight as well.

Brisa pulled out her Blade, Skydancer, as well, although reluctantly. She was not ready for a fight, and she was sure both Reyna and Zoe knew they couldn't possibly beat Tylor, Jarle, or the other mysterious guy.

Jarle decided to start off the attack by throwing a block of dark ice at Reyna, but somehow, her reflexes allowed her to use her Blade to shoot out a vine that cracked the ice mid-air. She was impressed by the Blade and its abilities.

Jarle, however, was clearly unimpressed. He snorted when he saw the amazement in her eyes. "Amateurs," he said and disappeared into a shadow and appeared behind Zoe, who screamed in fear when she felt a hand cover her eyes. The other two kunoichi were instantly alerted and managed to land a hit each with their Blades on him, but it did nothing. He was about to freeze her entire body with dark ice, but amazingly, under all the pressure she was in, Zoe managed to make a shield of life strong enough to block out the ice and pushed Jarle back. Not taking any chances, he used his shadow powers to disappear and reappeared behind Reyna and pushed her down.

 _He's playing with you girls,_ Skydancer said in Brisa's head.

 _Get up, Reyna,_ Vinewhipper said to Reyna. _We need to stop this man!_ Hearing those words, Reyna shot up and slashed at Jarle, but he caught her hand and tried twisting it, but not before Brisa hit him with her own Blade. He yelped in pain. Jarle was getting angry, so he kicked Vinewhipper out of Reyna's hand and yanked Skydancer from Brisa's and threw it towards Tylor, making sure none of them would dare go near him.

When none of the kunoichi did anything, Jarle smiled, giving him the look of an insane person. Well, that wasn't really far off from what he truly was. "I was right. You're powerless without those 'Elemental Blades'." He said the last part mockingly.

Reyna's nose flared. "Not at all! Watch this!" she shouted out at him. "NINJA GO!" She burst into her Spinjitzu, but Jarle shot dark ice at her and instantly stopped her, making her stumble backwards.

"W-why are you guys doing this…" Zoe asked quietly and fearfully. "Why did you take Brisa's parents?"

Jarle gave that crazy smile again. "Because we wanted to cause mayhem in the city!"

"Then why couldn't you do that without taking my parents?!" Brisa shouted at him.

"If we did that, there would be no fight," the unknown One replied. "We wanted you to help us in destroying this town. Then you'd feel bad about hurting so many innocent people. It was the perfect opportunity to show Ninjago that you aren't always the good guys."

Reyna got even angrier. "Why you-"

"WE FOUND YOU!" a male voice shouted from somewhere the kunoichi couldn't see. However, the voice was recognizable. It was Kai's voice. "Now you guys are gonna pay for what you did!"

Jay and Kai came into the kunoichi's sight. They were relieved that they had arrived. Now the tides could be turned, and the fight could be in their favour.

 _That's what you hope,_ Vinewhipper said to Reyna.

 _No harm in positive thinking,_ she replied back with confidence.

Jay and Kai pulled out their Blades, Voltstriker and Flameleaper, respectively.

"Now we'll finish you guys once and for all get Brisa's parents back too!" Jay shouted at them.

Jarle looked back at his two partners. And then they all laughed together.

* * *

Above them, Cole and Lloyd heard the falcon. It was flying in a circle, making sounds to get their attention.

"It's the falcon again!" Lloyd exclaimed.

"Did you find where the Five are?" Cole asked it. He felt silly, talking to a robotic bird, but then again, he talked to Zane everyday as well, and he was a robot.

The falcon made another noise, and started flying in a direction and came back, and then it repeated. "I think it wants us to follow it," Lloyd told the black ninja. "Let's go." The black ninja nodded in agreement.

* * *

 **So like, I realized while writing this chapter that only Reyna has unlocked Spinjitzu so far of the five kunoichi, which kind of sucks because I'll have to rush through that. There aren't many opportunities left in this story to do so before they find their true potential. I really think I should just do what the cartoon did in the first few episodes by letting all the ninja unlock it in the same episode, but do this for the kunoichi in one chapter (minus Zoe because she's new and I guess not Astra yet because she's knocked out right now).**

 **Anyways, hope you liked it!**


	36. Verge of Defeat

**Sorry for the delay! I forgot to write this chapter until yesterday. There's much more action here I think, and gets kind of intense at the end, or so I'd think if this were an actual cartoon, haha. You can probably tell from the title what's going to happen.**

 **Anyways, hope you like it!**

* * *

Chapter 36: Verge of Defeat

The falcon lead Cole and Lloyd to the spot that it saw some of the Five in. Fortunately, the falcon was leading them right to where Tylor, Jarle, and the other One were, along with Jay, Kai, Reyna, Brisa, and Zoe.

A few minutes later, they made it to where the falcon wanted them to be, and they saw a fight ready to start. The ninja had their Blades out, ready to take on Jarle, and also Tylor, it seemed. The kunoichi, however, seemed to have their Blades yanked away because they out of reach and past Jarle and Tylor.

"Need some help?" Cole called out. Everyone turned around and was stunned to see the black and green ninja.

"Yeah, we could use some…" Zoe muttered and looked at her enemies.

"Where's Nya?" Kai demanded to no one in particular.

"She's fighting some fire that the fire and wind dude made," Lloyd explained. "Like, she's stopping it, not literally fighting it." Knowing the red ninja, Lloyd knew he would have to add that second part because he was always concerned about his sister's safety.

Jay and Kai's eyes opened wide. "Wait, she's all alone?!" Jay cried out.

"What if that guy comes back, or Palmer?!" Kai shouted.

Lloyd and Cole exchanged looks. "That's very true…" Cole said quietly.

"ENOUGH!" Tylor roared and stepped forward. "You!" he pointed to Kai. "If you don't want that water girl hurt, I can very well call Palmer and Allen here to transfer the pain to you!"

Kai's eyes bulged once more. He knew very well that if a fight started and all Five were in one place, they could blast Edgeham to oblivion and wipe it off the map…them and the townspeople included.

"So, how about it?" Tylor challenged. "Would you rather have them fight you or her?"

Everyone turned to look at the always-proud ninja. He gritted his teeth. "Everybody, stay here. I'm finding her." He turned around and ran off to the direction of the fire.

"Wait! Kai!" Jay shouted after him, but the fire ninja paid no attention. He kept running. "Well, I guess we have to fight them."

"Yes, you do," Jarle said menacingly. He rubbed his hands together and got in a fighting stance. Cole got ready and took out his Blade, Quakesmasher, while Jay still had Voltstriker in his hand.

After nobody made a move, Jay and Jarle got impatient and somehow charged at each other at the same time. Voltstriker glowed blue and had lightning running through it, but Jarle twisted the light in front of Jay's eyes and made him temporarily blind. It gave a free opportunity for Jarle to land a quick punch on Jay, making the ninja stumble and fall backwards.

Meanwhile, Reyna charged in with nothing but her hands, and using the physical strength and movement she gained from training, she managed to swipe her Blade quickly from next to Tylor before he could strike. Tylor, however, seemed to take his sweet time, and he blocked Reyna's attack with his hand, but she shot out vines afterwards from the Blade and sent him stumbling backwards. She reached for Brisa's Blade, but fearing the last guy, she retreated.

Brisa and Zoe ran to help Jay. They both tackled Jarle at the same time and he fell on the ground, which gave Jay enough time to get up and zap him. Brisa ran to pick up her fallen Blade, and she noticed the other man standing there, smiling, not moving an inch to stop her. She picked it up cautiously and went back to help against Jarle.

Cole helped Reyna in her fight. He used Quakesmasher to throw rocks at Tylor, but he dodged every single one. The next one, he threw a big rock, with Tylor smashed right through it in one punch.

"As strong as you think you are, Cole, I am stronger," Tylor said as he walked up calmly to the couple. Reyna stretched out her hand to do something with her Blade, but with a reaction as fast as lightning, he used his Dark Earth powers to quickly swallow up whatever she did. When the dark rocks crumbled, there was nothing left of the plant powers Reyna had used. The dark material consumed it.

Angered, Reyna burst into her Spinjitzu. "NINJA GO!" she cried out and turned into her dark green tornado.

"Reyna, wait!" Cole cried out before it was too late, but the teal kunoichi made it late by not stopping. Tylor grinned and completely stopped her in her tracks by surrounding her with a shape similar to what he did to Cole in their first battle. But this time, Cole was ready, and with his Blade, he cracked open the wall of rock Tylor made around Reyna in two hits.

Tylor looked impressed. "Wow, I'm surprised. But that's not even the height of my power!"

"And ours neither!" Cole shouted back at him. He ran forward with his Blade, ready to attack, but Tylor brushed it aside.

On the other side, Jarle was actually amused by the attempts of Jay, Brisa, and Zoe. Zoe was near useless, so Jarle didn't bother with her. Brisa could only tickle him with wind, leaving the only thing he should actually care about to be Jay. But the lightning ninja was actually proving more troublesome than he thought, mainly because he had the two kunoichi to distract Jarle.

"You kids are so annoying!" Jarle bellowed. He shot Dark Ice at the feet of the kunoichi and froze them both. Brisa desperately tried using Skydancer to cut through it, but it wasn't working. Jay didn't want to zap it for fear of hurting them badly, so he was by himself against Jarle.

* * *

Far away, Kai found Nya controlling the fire as best as she could, and he saw Palmer and the One named Allen creeping up from behind her.

"Nya! Behind you!" he shouted out as she turned around to see the Two. Kai jumped in and tackled them both down. "Keep taking on the fire! I'll take these two!"

"But…you'll need help!" she cried out and lost control of her water for a moment.

Both Palmer and Allen threw Kai off of them and stood up. "So, you're Kai, huh?" Allen said. "I'm destined to fight an angry, impatient boy like you?"

"If that's your description of me, then yeah!" the red ninja spoke fiercely.

Both Allen and Palmer laughed. "So, Kai, how do you plan on taking on both of us, let alone one?" Palmer tauntingly asked.

This actually scared the fire ninja. "I…I will!" The Two laughed again, and Palmer started the fight by throwing around some weaker Dark Water attack at Kai, but luckily Kai ducked and dodged it. Allen swiped his hand and sent a slice of Dark Wind at Kai, but the red ninja was quick to block it with his Fire. Then the Two quickly overwhelmed the fire ninja with multiple attacks, one after another, and sometimes at the same time, but Kai endured.

"Kai! Let me help you! The fire is almost gone!" Nya cried out. She felt pained to see her brother beat like that.

"No…it's okay…" he managed and just barely caught a punch from Allen to block it, but the One used his Dark Fire and gave some nasty pain on his hand.

 _Come on, you stupid fire! Hurry up and finish so I can help Kai!_ Nya was itching to help him so badly. At last, the desire within her to help him burst into energy, and in a whirlwind, she stopped the fire and swallowed up Palmer and threw him out.

"Great, you learnt Spinjitzu," Palmer told her with his signature grin that was meant to make him look nice.

"Th-that was Spinjitzu?!" Nya said in happiness and shock.

Palmer nodded. "But that's not saving you. Nothing will." Palmer ended his talking with a quick blast Dark Water, but Nya brushed it aside with her Blade, Hydroslasher. Then it was her turn to attack, and she sent Water at him, but he easily countered with some of his own. He leaped at her Blade with lightning on his hand, and she stuck out her Blade, ready to throw him off to the side, but his hand touched the Blade that was slightly moist, and the lightning travelled to her hand. The Dark Lightning left a bad sting.

Meanwhile, Kai was having a better chance thanks to not being attacked by both of them. He seemed to be pretty even with Allen, but his enemy didn't seem to be the least bit tired, while Kai was. He didn't know how much longer he could keep up on the defensive.

"Kai, what are you doing?!" Nya yelled out at her brother. "You're usually the offensive ninja, not the one who fights defensively!"

 _Offensively…_ Kai thought. _She's right. I don't win like this. It's not like me._ So with the help of some adrenaline rush, the fire ninja started blasting fireballs from his Blade and his hand. Allen couldn't respond to the quick speed of Flameleaper and kept getting hit. That was until he got fed up and blew Kai off his feet with the swing of his hand.

Nya screamed, but she was quickly stopped when Palmer hit her. "Pay attention to your opponent!" he roared. "Just because you're a girl, DOES NOT MEAN I WILL GO EASY!" He quickened his pace which Nya just could not keep up with. She begged for Hydroslasher to do something, or for her Spinjitzu come into play, and then she thought of how the ninja were able to use it at will. They followed the motions of the training course. She slipped away underneath a punch and did the motions, and then she launched into Spinjitzu and tossed Palmer into the building that was burning earlier. Then she headed forward to Allen, who liked he was about to finish Kai. Allen was also sent flying, and he landed on the ground.

The water kunoichi stopped spinning. "You know, I realized something. We shouldn't fight separately, but we need to take these two down together."

Kai smiled as his sister helped him up. "You bet. We're going to finish them together."

The siblings heard laughter, and it was from both Palmer and Allen. "You two together cannot stop us," Palmer said as he got back up easily.

"Yes, we are more than strong enough to take both of you on," Allen said from behind them.

"But, alas, it is time for us to leave," Palmer sighed. He sprinted past them with Allen right behind and ran the same way Kai had come.

"Cowards!" Kai shouted out.

"Kai! Stop provoking them!" the cyan kunoichi scolded. "They're right. We can't beat them."

He looked at her with disbelief. "Then what was all that about beating them together?!"

Nya looked confused for a moment, but then she rolled her eyes and chuckled. "Oh, silly. That was to inspire confidence in you! I knew we couldn't beat them, so I tried intimidating them, if that could work at all!"

Kai groaned. "We need to go back there. The others will need help." His sister did not protest, and they ran back down to help their friends.

* * *

"Lloyd! Are you going to help us?" Zoe practically screamed at the green ninja, who was frozen in fear since the beginning of the fight.

He snapped out of his long trance. "Oh, uh, yeah! I'm coming!" Lloyd recklessly charged in at Jarle, but he was sidestepped and then shoved into the wall. He was about to throw Dark Ice when Jay zapped him with lightning.

"Cool! That response time was as fast as lightning!" he exclaimed at Voltstriker.

 _I try,_ Voltstriker told the blue ninja.

Right then, they heard footsteps pounding behind them and saw Palmer and Allen running towards them.

"Oh no, what happened to Kai and Nya?!" Brisa cried out loud. A bit behind them in distance, they saw Kai and Nya as well.

"Tylor, Jarle, I don't really think there's much of a point in staying around here," Palmer said when he was in earshot range. "Let's just give the girl her parents back and leave. Our job here is done."

"Hey, you can't run away like that!" Reyna was fuming at Tylor.

"I didn't say anything about running." Tylor maintained a straight posture with his head up that asserted dominance. "I can't leave an easy fight when I see one!" He jumped up and swooped in at their heads, hitting them both as they stumbled backwards. He then delivered one strong punch to Cole and the earth ninja was sprawled out on the ground.

"Cole!" everybody screamed at once.

Tylor looked back at Jarle, Palmer, and Allen, and all three understood. "Heads up!" Jarle said to Lloyd, who was looking at the knocked-out Cole. The green ninja was punched in the jaw and went down as well, while Brisa and Zoe could only scream and watch as they saw another teammate go down too.

Allen used his Dark Fire to knock Kai backwards, and it burnt right through his gi on his left arm. Nya was hit by Dark Water, and felt suffocated, and due to that, she collapsed. Jay was horrified and didn't notice at all that Palmer sent Dark Lightning at him, shocking him and also burning his gi in his stomach region.

Only person that could possibly fight any of them was Reyna. Brisa and Zoe were trapped in the Dark Ice, which if wasn't broken soon enough, could permanently damage the two kunoichi's legs.

Reyna was close to tears. Here, all of her brothers and sisters were knocked out of action for one reason or another. She couldn't let them down. The tears began to escape her eyes. _No, I must stay strong, for everyone here that would depend on me! For Brisa and Zoe, who are the only ones watching what I will do, and to everyone else that can't…especially you, Cole._ The nature kunoichi looked back at the ninja she really liked, on the ground, like he was lifeless.

 _Accept it,_ Vinewhipper said in her mind. Reyna was surprised and looked at her Blade. _Accept that this is your limit right now, and that you can't take on all of them._

 _No way. Isn't the whole purpose to be a kunoichi to not give up?_ Reyna ridiculed her Blade.

 _There is only so much you can do alone,_ it replied. _There are times when you must accept defeat._

The teal kunoichi was genuinely shocked. How could Vinewhipper, a sword that she was supposed to become best friends with, tell her to simply give up? _B-but I…I have to stay strong! For Cole and all the others!_

If the Blade had a head, it would probably be shaking it right now. _Reyna, you must understand that you cannot always be strong. Accept this, and you will never be weak again!_

Reyna lifted her head up, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath. She knew what to do.

* * *

 **Hmmm, so what do you think will happen? What will Reyna do, being the only who can fight still while everyone else is missing in action? I'm sure the last thing Vinewhipper says to Reyna kind of gives it away, but that was kind of what I wanted. Foreshadowing.**

 **Hope you liked it!**


	37. True Vines

**Back with another chapter! This one was a bit hard to write in the middle. I knew what to put in the beginning and end, but no idea about the middle. I don't have anything else to say. Hope you like it!**

* * *

Chapter 37: True Vines

"I can't always be strong, huh?" Reyna tilted her head down and smiled. Scenes flashed in her head of when she wanted to be strong, but couldn't. These scenes included things far before she became a kunoichi, such as the time where her brother, Rob, was critically ill and she couldn't help but feel helpless and weak, even though she reminded herself many times that she is. Or the time where she stood up to a bully but couldn't do anything after because she was outnumbered and felt helpless and weak after that. A more recent example was her fake fight against Nya, where she kept standing up to beat the cyan kunoichi, but couldn't.

 _I get it now,_ Reyna told Vinewhipper.

 _Good._ Vinewhipper would probably be smiling right now if it had a face.

From a place deep within her, power flooded through her like water breaking through a dam. She never felt so powerful, not even when she used Spinjitzu. "I am Reyna, the kunoichi of nature! Like plants and trees may not be able to stay put during a natural disaster, strength in humans is not always permanent!" She swung her Blade into the air, and vines sprung out of the ground and tied Palmer and Jarle together, trapping them. More vines came out and pushed Tylor and Allen back as they fell on the ground and were trapped as well.

"Wow!" Zoe squeaked. "Reyna! You're glowing!"

"It's her true potential!" Brisa exclaimed in happiness.

The last One standing snorted. "Enough of this! That won't help!" he roared and with a swipe of his hand, dark energy blasted past the trapped Four and freed them. The vines from Reyna's true potential were absolutely nothing for him. "We've had our fun for today. We can leave now." He dropped Brisa's parents and they screamed when they hit the ground while the other Four got up and followed the last One. "By the way, the name's Lucas. I guarantee we will meet again many more times." Lucas didn't even turn around as he said that. Jarle snapped his fingers without turning around and freed Brisa and Zoe. Brisa limped over to her parents in slight pain.

"Mom! Dad! Are you okay?!" she asked them.

Meanwhile, Reyna's body stopped glowing from her true potential. "No way…he broke them free like my true potential was nothing…"

Brisa turned back around at to her friend. "Was that Death…or…Destruction that Lucas used?"

"And that's the guy I have to fight?!" Zoe was horrified. "That's crazy!"

"I think…I actually don't know." Reyna said. "It could've been Death or Destruction because vines are plants, and plants are living."

"Whatever it was…" the silver kunoichi's face darkened. "It made your true potential look like nothing."

"Sorry for interrupting, but what do we do about your fallen friends?" Mr. Silvio interrupted.

Brisa looked at her father. "Oh, right…"

"We can't take them all, so we kind of have to wait, don't we?" Zoe asked.

And so wait they did. It wasn't very long before the ninja and kunoichi got back up. After they were all up, Brisa made the announcement that Reyna unlocked her true potential.

"Wow! That's great!" Cole exclaimed happily. "But where'd they go?"

"Yeah, we need to take revenge on them!" Jay punched a fist into his hand.

"They left," Reyna told them. "Lucas said something about-"

"Wait, who's Lucas?" Lloyd asked. "Is it the last guy we didn't know the name of?"

The teal kunoichi nodded and continued. "He said something like they were just here to have fun, and that we'd meet again somewhere."

Zoe felt obligated to add one part. "Many times."

"How about we talk when we get home?" Mrs. Silvio suggested. Everyone agreed and they went to Brisa's house. When they got there, they found that most of the people in the town were there, waiting for them.

"Mom, dad," Brisa said to her parents when they got to the front door. "Do you realize now why I became a kunoichi?"

Her parents looked at each other. "Yes, and we are glad you did." Mr. Silvio replied happily and put his hand on his daughter's shoulder.

"Who knows what those awful men would've done without you heroes?" Mrs. Silvio added.

"Uh, excuse me, but what heroes?" someone from the crowd in front of the house called out.

"Sorry?" Mrs. Silvio acted like she didn't hear what the person said.

"I mean, which heroes leave innocent civilians dying in a store?" the person said again, and everybody recognized it as a man's voice. Jay and Kai felt panic building up inside them, knowing he was talking about them leaving the people in the store.

"It was for the greater good!" Jay shouted in a direction relative to the voice.

"What greater good?" a woman now demanded. "My husband was injured in that store!"

"And my apartment was burnt down!" another woman shouted out.

People continued shouting things out until the entire crowd had something to yell and complain about. It became loud enough to the point where anyone inside the house (Zane, the three Sensei, and the grandparents) came out to see what the commotion was all about.

"Hey, hey! Quiet!" Nya shouted out to them, and surprisingly, they became quiet. "Do you think we wanted your apartment to burn? Or your husband to be injured? We were doing what we could! Jay and Kai didn't want something similar to what happened in the store to happen again, so they ran after the man who did it!"

"And in case you didn't know, each of those bad guys have more than enough power to wipe this town off the map!" Kai's voice boomed. "That includes your existence and the town's existence!"

"But you guys are heroes, aren't you?" someone said. "Then you should've stopped them without destroying so much of the town!"

"Would you rather have your house or shop destroyed or be dead?" Cole asked the man, who happened to be in the front row. "I don't know about you, but I'd rather have my house destroyed because at least that can be rebuilt. A life taken away can't be rebuilt."

This managed to make everyone stay quiet. "We are sorry, everybody," Sensei Wu said at last. "I am sure my students did not mean to let the town be destroyed or have people be injured, but they did what they could."

"Yes, if they actually fought the enemies with their full strength, it would have caused a much greater disaster than what you are facing right now," Misako added.

The complaining and insults stopped. They hadn't realized the danger they could've been in before Wu and Misako stepped in.

The large group entered the house and closed the door behind them.

"Nice to see that you're back up, Zane," Lloyd remarked.

The white ninja nodded. "Yes, but Astra is not, unfortunately."

Nya tilted her head. "She hasn't woke up since she was knocked out? Not even once?"

"No, that's not what he meant," Garmadon said. "She woke up before Zane did, but she has not yet permanently gotten up."

Reyna bit her lip. "That's bad! Something must be wrong…"

"We can worry about that later," Zane said quickly. Everyone was surprised to see him caring for something else at the moment. "But first, we need to know what happened with the Five."

The ninja and kunoichi looked at each other, and then sighed. "Well, like Kai said, we would've been destroyed if they tried at all…" Jay muttered.

Cole nodded. "We took some nasty hits, especially towards the end." He still felt some pain from the strong punch Tylor delivered to his ribs, but luckily, nothing felt like it was broken.

"They actually just gave up," Brisa added. "They just left."

Nya looked at her friend. "Not true. Weren't they getting bored of us and that's why they left?"

Her brother nodded. "Yeah, that's why. They came to have fun with us, that's all."

"And that fun they had destroyed a good portion of Edgeham…" Sensei Wu sighed. "Now all the townspeople are angry with us because we could not protect them or their town."

"Not the way they wanted or expected us to," Misako also sighed.

Brisa's parents looked at each other. "It's okay, they'll understand soon enough," Mr. Silvio said.

"Yes, I'm sure if we could explain to them, then they would understand," Mrs. Silvio added.

"Wow, really?!" Brisa's eyes widened in happiness. "That'd be great!"

"Yeah, it would clear our name," Lloyd added with a smile.

"Now, what about Astra?" Zoe asked Zane. "What are we going to do about her?"

The nindroid sighed. "We cannot do anything but carry her back to the Bounty. We should leave, and soon." Everybody agreed to that, but the silver kunoichi didn't leave until she said bye to her parents and grandparents.

"Bye mom! Bye dad!" she said as she hugged her parents who now understood why she did what she did a while back to become a kunoichi. "I hope you're not angry with me still, are you?"

Mr. Silvio had a stern face. "You still didn't listen to what we said about not doing this kunoichi business."

"And now if word of today's disaster spreads around Ninjago, your reputation will be ruined!" her mother told her angrily.

"And if you listened to us, there wouldn't be any chance of your reputation being ruined!" her father had to add again.

"You could've had such a good life ahead of you, but no!" Mrs. Silvio's voice was getting louder.

Brisa's heart felt like it had shattered again. "But…what about what you said outside…" Her parents didn't reply, and they turned around swiftly. "Grandma, grandpa, make them understand, please!" Sadly, they shook their heads because her parents would not give in to what they said.

Kai was furious with Brisa's parents, but he kept his mouth closed and pulled a tearing Brisa away from her parents as they all left the town to go back on the Bounty.

"It's not fair!" Brisa shouted on the deck with only Kai there to hear her. "Why can't they seem to understand any decision I ever make on my own?!" She paced around the deck angrily. Luckily for the Bounty, if Brisa had unlocked her true potential and had Skydancer in her hand, it would be very likely that it would cause up a storm of wind that reacted to her mood.

Kai stood their silently, watching the kunoichi of wind release her anger and try to cool down.

"Well, say something!" She looked at him with a face that was not usually her carefree self.

The red ninja was startled. "Oh, uh, yeah!" he said in agreement. "I don't get why they don't understand you…"

Brisa narrowed her eyes at him. "Is this a joke? You don't sound serious."

He sighed. "Brisa, it isn't like you to get so angry over this. Sad, maybe, but not angry."

"I'm not going to sit back and relax knowing my parents aren't happy, you know," she said icily.

"Well, what am I supposed to do?!" Kai exploded. "Tell me what you want me to do and I'll help you!"

Brisa lost her fierceness and simply collapsed onto the Bounty floor, ready to cry again. "I don't know, Kai…I don't know…"

* * *

Meanwhile, inside the ninja's room, Cole and Reyna were having a blast, being closer than ever after Reyna unlocked her true potential. "How does it feel having your mental obstacle removed?" the black ninja asked. "Nice, huh?"

The teal kunoichi nodded enthusiastically. "It feels great now that I don't always want to be the strongest!"

Cole nodded approvingly. "Yeah, being the best at everything you want to be the best in is near impossible. There's always going to be someone better because nobody gets everything they want. That day where you kept wanting to beat Nya…that definitely wasn't a smart move by you."

The kunoichi looked down at the floor. "Yeah, I know. I got reckless and carried away, but now I know my limits!"

"And you're also the strongest kunoichi right now, but only until the other catch up to you, right?"

She nodded once more. "Yup, and I'll be waiting for the day when all my sisters can unlock their true potentials too. Then we'll beat the Five once and for all!" Remembering about the Five, the way Lucas got rid of her vines still bothered her.

"Reyna? Something wrong?" Cole asked.

"Hm…Lucas…the way he destroyed my vines with ease…he's not going to be an easy opponent for Lloyd and Zoe…"

Cole brushed away the concern. "Don't worry. They'll be able to handle him once Zoe unlocks her true potential, I'm sure of it."

Reyna looked at him and smiled. "You know, Cole, you're a positive guy, and I like that about you. You try to help us out and help inspire confidence with your leader-like qualities."

"And you're strong willed unlike the old stereotype that females are weak," he replied instantly. "And that's good, because that's what you'll need as a kunoichi."

It was at that moment that their feelings for each other truly sparked. "I fell for you a long while back, but I…I think I love you!" he blurted out, feeling weird to say such a thing, but he knew Reyna wouldn't mind.

A true laugh came out from her mouth. "So do I, Cole, I think I love you too." The two got much closer, and for the first time, their lips touched. However, the moment only lasted for a few seconds.

"Hey Cole! Reyna! It's time for-woah!" It was Lloyd. He walked in on the new official couple and was extremely surprised at what they were doing. They stopped immediately as they saw him enter the room.

"Dinner!" Zane called out a moment after Lloyd stopped talking.

"Ugh, gross! You lovebirds couldn't have done that at any other time?!" he shouted teasingly at them.

Cole stood up, furious. "YOU COULDN'T ENTER AT ANY OTHER TIME?!" He ran and chased after Lloyd, while the green ninja, still a kid at heart, ran away from him, while anyone that saw the two running around the ship laughed.

* * *

 **Hurray! Reyna unlocked her true potential! And confessed her feelings to Cole and so did he! But Lloyd walked in on them, and Brisa's parents are still angry at her even though they were acting nice not too long before. Will they have to try a second time to patch up? Lucas also promised that they'd meet again, so will the ninja and kunoichi win then?**

 **Hope you liked it!**


	38. Two Steps Forward

**Sorry for the long wait! I had exams and a bunch of end of the year projects to finish so it took me a while to get to this. It was still hard writing this after I was done half of it. There's some things in this story that I'll have to introduce to you earlier than expected, and some things will have to be removed entirely because it'll be hard to add them (no ideas on how to do some things). I think I hinted on a couple things some chapters ago, but I might have to abandon those ideas because it's getting hard to write this.**

 **Anyways, hope you like it!**

* * *

Chapter 38: Two Steps Forward

"So, what is our next course of action?" Zane asked in the bridge where everyone had gathered. They had called for a meeting to decide where they would go next, if anywhere at all.

"Can we…go to my house?" Reyna asked hopefully. Everyone turned towards her.

Nya nodded. "Sure. It's a good idea to meet your parents and your brother again before we get to the final battle."

Misako nodded. "Yes, it would be. We should head there now."

"But what about Astra's parents?" Zane objected. He didn't want the yellow kunoichi to be left out in what were her last days. She had to see them once again.

"Maybe…we can go there after? If there's enough time, of course," Kai suggested.

Zane shot him a look that actually scared the red ninja. The white ninja was glaring for once.

"We can go there first, can't we?!" Jay blurted out to save his best friend, Kai. The fire ninja looked grateful to him because Zane took his glare off and turned to Jay with his normal face, a bit softer than a moment ago, if anything.

Wu nodded. "Yes, we should go to Astra's house first. She would want to meet them, and as would they."

"Is that fine with you?" Cole turned to Reyna. The teal kunoichi nodded immediately. As much as she wanted to see her family, she knew that Astra seeing hers first was more important.

"Alrighty, we'll head to Merriden, Astra's town first!" Nya happily told everyone. Everyone nodded in agreement as always.

* * *

Lloyd went to their living room to play some games. He was in the midst of one when Garmadon, his dad, came in. "Hi, Lloyd," he said.

Lloyd turned around and noticed his dad there, and instantly turned sour. "Hi," he said with little happiness or excitement. He went back to the game.

Garmadon noticed that the game was distracting Lloyd from being closer to him. He knew Lloyd was still angry, but he sought to change that if Misako couldn't herself. He had to make a bold move. He walked in front of the TV and turned it off.

"Hey! What gives?!" Lloyd shouted in anger.

"I know you didn't want me to turn this off, but I think we should talk a bit," Garmadon replied calmly.

Lloyd gave a frown and scowl and turned away from Garmadon. Garmadon then walked in front of the green ninja, but Lloyd turned away again. "Lloyd, you can't stay angry forever. You will accept us. I know it."

"Tough luck," Lloyd grunted. "You don't know what it feels like, do you? You left before I was even born. Then mom left without telling me what for. How do you expect me to react?"

"I know you would be angry, Lloyd, but I didn't think you'd take so long to become calm and happy again."

"I didn't have a dad or a mom for so long," he said. "I had no idea where you were until you came back, but not for long. And then you left again. And then it turned out I had to fight you."

"And now I am right here, by your side," Garmadon told him lightly. "I can't understand why if you wanted us to be with you, why are you angry now, when we are with you?"

"Because you weren't there when I needed you most!" he said defiantly. "Now I have uncle Wu, the ninja, and the kunoichi to ask help for if I need it. But a few years ago? Who could I rely on then? Nobody!"

Garmadon gritted his teeth. Lloyd was telling the truth. His son had no one to rely on for so many years. "But that is over now. You do have people to talk to as much as you want now!"

Lloyd seemed to soften his gaze. "You're right, but…living without parents for so long just felt so weird…it feels even weirder now that they're living in the same place as me."

Garmadon smiled, glad that Lloyd was finally opening up to them.

"Don't think I'm not mad though!" Lloyd said fiercely. "I may be opening up more, but that doesn't mean I've forgiven both of you."

Garmadon sat down on the floor and leaned against the TV. "Alright then, Lloyd. I will make sure you do that before the final battle."

"You can try."

* * *

Astra was insisting to Zane that she try training a bit, even if it was for a few minutes. She felt exhausted, but she was determined not to look bad in front of her family a couple hours later. "I need to! I haven't trained in so long!"

"But Astra, if you're not feeling well enough, how do you expect to do that?" Zane protested to her.

She toughened up. "I have to. I made a promise to myself I would help you guys however I can. So I have to."

Zane was reluctant to let her, but if that's what she wanted, then he wouldn't stop her. "If you think it's a good idea, then I will be supporting you."

Astra smiled gratefully to the white ninja. "Thanks, Zane. I can always count on you." The nindroid returned the smile.

So for as long as she could, Astra attempted the training course. She had never mastered it, but she knew how to do most of it, and from memory, she was able to complete just as much as she had before she stopped training.

Sensei Wu, Lloyd, and Zoe came out a bit after and were surprised to see Astra attempting the course. Wu was taken aback. "Good job, Astra. I am glad to know you can still do much of it."

Lloyd nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah, you'll learn Spinjitzu in no time if you keep this up!"

Astra beamed as she listened to them. "Thanks, but I don't know how much longer I can keep this up…"

There was a silence on the deck, and only the wind could be heard as the Bounty flew through the sky. "Don't worry, Astra, everything will be alright," Zoe said with a smile, although on the inside, she wasn't sure that would hold out much longer. Zoe wasn't even close to learning how she could heal people fully, so how could she say such a thing?

Astra continued using the course, so Sensei Wu decided it would be best for Zoe to practice her powers along with Lloyd. Lloyd was very well prepared with element, creation, but knowing even a glimpse of Lucas' power, he would have to become stronger as well to be ready to face off against him. There was still one option for the ninja and kunoichi, but Wu was going to hold off on that for now until the time was right…

That other option began bugging him. He would have to tell them sooner or later. He was making his decision when a bright burst of energy snapped him out of his thoughts. It was a ball of energy created by Lloyd.

Zoe tried making beams or balls of energy like Lloyd could, but it was tough, so Lloyd began helping her. "Lloyd, allow me to help her. You should focus on yourself right now."

His nephew looked at him indignantly. "Fine," he grumbled and went back to practicing. Now, Wu went to instruct the pink kunoichi.

"Draw out any power you can, and focus it into something of your liking," he suggested to her. "And there are also physical restrictions to this: you must keep your arms and body straight. That is the key to doing what you are trying to do."

Meanwhile, Astra kept pushing herself, but she was exhausted and could no longer try to do it. She sat down on the deck, breathing heavily and taking deep breaths to be less tired. A few moments later, she got back up and tried using her element, light. She brought out her Blade, Rayseeker, and called on its power, but nothing would happen. She tried again, but to the same result.

Wu turned around and noticed the frustrated kunoichi of light. "Astra, for you to use your elemental Blade, you must be powerful enough to call on its power. Do you remember that?"

Astra looked at him, and then looked down in sadness. "I'm weak, aren't I?"

Zane looked a bit edgy to his Sensei. "But Sensei, don't you remember when Brisa called on the power of her Blade in the cave? She had no training then."

Wu thought back. "Yes, maybe 'powerful' was not the right word. Perhaps having more energy would be a better explanation. Take a break, Astra, and you may be able to use your Blade's power."

"But it'll drain my energy again…" the kunoichi looked sad.

"Yes, but energy does came back," Zane reminded her, as if she needed reminding about that. Astra nodded, and sat back down. It took a bit of time, but she stood back up and used her Blade's powers again. This time, a beam of light shot out and went far into the distance and couldn't even be seen a split second later.

"Good job, Astra!" Lloyd said as he turned around just in time to see Astra use Rayseeker's powers. He had heard her get up, and wondered if she was about to use her Blade.

Not long after, they had reached Merriden, Astra's town. They went to her house and knocked on the door, and her dad opened it. "Oh, Astra! You're back! But we didn't hear any news about anything bad happening besides what happened in Edgeham. No other big fights or anything. Is it really all over?"

"Dad, dad, we'll explain when we get in," his daughter replied with slight annoyance because he didn't let her talk at all. "We have more guests this time, as you may see."

Astra was right. There were faces her dad didn't see before, like Brisa, Zoe, Misako, and Garmadon, but they were all introduced to him. Astra's mom also came shortly after she was informed that Astra was here; she had gone shopping.

"So, what was that part about explaining?" Mr. Nikola, Astra's father, asked.

Sensei Wu nodded. "Yes, so, our journey is not yet done. We have not yet had the final battle that we all dread because neither we nor our enemies are defeated."

"In fact, we've actually lost to them more than we've beat them," Kai boasted, acting like it was something cool, when in fact, it makes other think they're weak. To stop her brother from speaking anymore, she gave him a quick punch on the shoulder which made him glare at her. Nya just smiled back at him.

Wu nodded. "As much as we hate it, Kai is right: we have lost more than we won. All the times we have met, they could've easily finished us all, but they didn't."

"It's likely they are just playing around with us right now, and they'll have real fun beating us in the final battle," Misako added on.

"Well, I don't necessarily agree that they'll beat you guys," Mr. Nikola said with a smile. "You guys are tough, aren't you?"

Jay chuckled. "Sure, but we need to be a lot stronger than now to send them packing."

"Hello everyone!" Mrs. Nikola said as she walked through the front door. "Wow, more guests this time, I see."

"Hi, mom!" Astra said happily when she saw her. "Long time!" She ran up and gave her a hug like a little kid. Her mother hugged her back.

"So, what brings you all here today?" she asked with a cheerful smile. "It's a nice day, much better than the last time. No sandstorm." She chuckled at her own words.

"We just…came to visit," Astra informed her. "We don't really _need_ a reason, do we?"

"No, of course not," her dad answered. "You can come anytime you like."

Mrs. Nikola noticed the people she hadn't seen the last time around, and they all gave a quick introduction of their names.

Everyone, including Astra, knew that they wouldn't able to keep the latest bad news from Astra's parents for long. They would have to find out about the problem – and their only solution – sooner or later. Eventually, they would ask about it anyways.

"So, how's it going with you, Astra?" her mom asked her. The yellow kunoichi bit her lip, not knowing what to say.

"Yes, about that…" Garmadon started.

"Astra has an Elemental Blade now," Wu cut his brother off. "It is a sword, a sword of Light. It comes with the name Rayseeker, and her Blade did a health check of Astra. It told her that she only had a couple of weeks left."

Silence filled the house as everybody became speechless. Nobody wanted to talk.

* * *

 **Uh oh, they had to tell Astra's parents about her situation! Responses would be predictable. I'm sure a lot of us would have similar reactions to something like that. Anyways, hope you liked it (wasn't that good in my opinion...)!**


	39. Truth is a Lie

**Another chapter! I started writing this like Tuesday of last week, but then I got busy again and didn't know what to write (again). But, I was able to add an important part of the story in this chapter! It's just the beginning of that, and there's still a while to go before the final battle.**

 **Hope you like it!**

* * *

Chapter 39: Truth is a Lie

Silence filled the air because nobody dared to talk. After a good few moments, Mrs. Nikola had the courage to speak up. "Astra…is this true?"

The yellow kunoichi nodded sadly. "Yes…it's true…"

Mrs. Nikola looked like she had seen a ghost. "No…no no no! We aren't going to let something like this happen!"

Mr. Nikola stood up with a great amount of fear in his eyes. "We have to find help…even if we can't…we have to try!"

"Yes, about that," Misako said. "There is an idea that we have."

Mr. Nikola looked at her with hope. "And what may that be?"

She looked to Zoe. "The kunoichi of life, Zoe, must learn healing powers. That is the only choice we have."

The two parents looked at the pink kunoichi with worry…and hope. She felt like she was being watched from all sides, and she began to worry. She began to worry if she would be able to live up to everyone's hope of Astra being saved by her.

"Zoe," Mrs. Nikola said. "I know we know nothing about you. But PLEASE, do what you can and what you need to in order to heal our daughter." She was on the verge of tears because of the awful news that was broken to her. Any parent would be really sad at hearing something like that.

"Yes, please, Zoe," Mr. Nikola felt the need to repeat. "Obviously, it would mean A LOT to us if you could cure her." He looked like he was pleading to the pink kunoichi.

Poor Mr. and Mrs. Nikola. They were entrusting the life of their daughter in the hands of someone they didn't even know, and could not in any way know if she would be cured.

Zoe clenched her jaw. It was a lot of pressure to know someone's life was in your hands. "Of course," she said. "I have to try my very best and hardest to learn how to heal. I have to."

Knowing that the pink kunoichi was going to work towards it, the two parents could feel slightly relieved. "Enough of this," Mr. Nikola tried waving the topic aside. "Let's talk about things less negative and worrisome."

"Yes," Mrs. Nikola agreed. "How is your training going, Astra? Have you gotten far?"

Astra shrugged on lighter terms. "I can control my element a bit, but lately I haven't been doing much training at all, so it's hard for me to improve."

"Oh." Astra's mom looked disappointed.

"Well don't worry," her dad said with a pat on her shoulder. "When you're all good, you'll become a lot stronger, right?"

Sensei Wu nodded. "Yes, of course she will. She will unlock her true potential like everybody else."

"How much longer are you going to stay?" Mrs. Nikola asked. "Are you going to stay for dinner?"

Garmadon quickly shook his head. "No, we should get going soon." He was starting to act like he was in charge, which made Lloyd frown. Meanwhile, Mrs. Nikola nodded with sadness.

Wu got up. "Well, I know this must've been a short and painful reunion, but we must go. There are…things we must do."

The two parents nodded. "Yes, we understand," Mr. Nikola said. However, before they left, Mr. and Mrs. Nikola pulled Astra into the kitchen for a bit.

"Astra…we have faith in Zoe," her dad told her.

"Yes, you will be cured completely. We know it." Her mom smiled.

Astra nodded gratefully. "Yes, we all must think positively…it will happen…I'm sure of it." They said their goodbyes and then they all left and headed back out to the Bounty.

* * *

"Now, we'll go to your house, right Reyna?" Nya asked her teammate with a smile.

The teal kunoichi smiled back. "Yup."

"Hey Zoe, what about your parents?" Jay asked the pink kunoichi.

"Yeah, don't you want to see them again?" Lloyd asked her.

Zoe nodded her head. "Yeah, but they live in Ninjago City. We're probably going to go there after going to Reyna's house, right? To Ninjago City, I mean."

"I don't see why we wouldn't be able to," Cole said.

"Yeah, don't worry, sensei will let us go there," Brisa told her cheerfully.

Nya nodded. "In fact, I was planning on going to Ninjago City after this anyways, or somewhere nearby. It's all good."

Afterwards, Zoe headed outside onto the deck and watched the ground beneath them pass by in the blink of an eye. They weren't high up, but they were going fast. She heard footsteps behind her, and figured it was going to be Lloyd. She turned to see, and she was right. She turned back and continued looking at the passing ground.

"I know what you're worried about," the green ninja told her quietly. "It's about Astra and your healing powers, right?"

Zoe nodded miserably. It felt bad to her knowing that someone's life rested in her hands, and she couldn't just turn her back to Astra and everyone else. No, she was not like that.

Lloyd put a hand on her shoulder, which surprised her. "Don't worry," he said. "It'll work out fine if you keep working hard."

She nodded again, this time feeling a bit better. Then she shot up with a smile. "Want to practice right now?"

Now it was Lloyd's turn to look a bit surprised. "Uh, sure. I guess I could help right now."

For the next _2_ hours, Zoe was practicing healing along with Lloyd's help. The green ninja had no idea of how he could help except repeat what his dad had said. Most of the training Zoe needed was to be better at controlling her element. However, the problem was that Zoe couldn't control her element if she didn't know what she could do.

"Hey, Zoe," Lloyd said at last. "I think you need to learn the…uh…offensive uses of your element first. We all learnt like that, and I think you would know how to control your element if you could do that first."

The pink kunoichi gave it a thought while the green ninja waited patiently. "Maybe you're right. If it worked for all of you, then it should for me too."

So for a bit, Zoe continued trying to control her element, but this time in a more offensive matter: a blast of energy. She didn't get far before Misako came outside to call them in. "Lloyd, Zoe, there is a meeting called for in the bridge."

"Okay, thanks!" Zoe responded. "We'll be there in a minute!" Misako nodded and went back inside while Lloyd and Zoe wrapped up their session. "Let's go inside to the bridge now."

Lloyd nodded and followed Zoe there.

* * *

In the bridge, everyone had gathered; even Astra, who was sitting on the floor.

"So what's today's meeting for?" Kai asked nobody in particular.

"Well, I will tell you now," Sensei Wu answered to him. He actually looked a little nervous for once. "Now, what I am about to tell is very important and should not be taken lightly."

Everyone was a little shocked to say the least, but they were ready to hear it.

"You have our attention, Sensei," Nya told her teacher.

He nodded. "I know that none of the kunoichi aside from Reyna have unlocked their true potential, but I would have to tell you this sooner or later. There is a big reason why you may think your power is nowhere near the same level as the Five. This is because you have not yet reached the highest limit that you can."

Silence. All five ninja and kunoichi were shocked. "Sensei…so you mean to say there is another level higher than our true potential?"

Wu nodded. "Yes, that is exactly what I mean. I do not know what it is formally called, but let us just call it your ultimate potential."

"Wow, that sounds so cool!" Jay exclaimed. "We got our Blades and now we can get even more power! Cool!"

"It may sound cool," Garmadon spoke now. "But if you unlock your ultimate potential, you have control of very destructive power."

"Awesome! Then can't we just blow those five guys up?" Kai asked with a smug smile.

Misako shook her head. "I'm afraid that isn't possible, Kai. The Five will have equal strength as two of you with your ultimate potential unlocked."

Kai scowled, not believing what he had just heard.

"But what kind of new powers will this ultimate potential give us?" Reyna asked the teachers.

"Very powerful powers, to say the least," Wu said. "It is destructive power, far greater than anything you have seen. A good estimate would be as powerful as a strong attack from one of our enemies."

"That's not that bad," Astra said. "I mean, how strong is that? We've seen them fight."

"But we haven't seen them fight to their best ability," Cole countered.

"Yeah, we don't know how powerful they really are," Brisa agreed with the black ninja.

"Well, this power sounds awesome!" Kai was super excited.

"It is not awesome," Wu said very sternly. "You would have very destructive power. It can harm someone if you aren't careful. It gives complete control of your element at a grand scale."

Silence once again filled the Bounty until Lloyd spoke.

"Now one more question is left," he said. "How do we unlock it? And can Zoe and I unlock it as well?"

"Yes, you two can potentially unlock your ultimate potential," Misako answered curtly. "We can't be sure, and the reason for that is because how you unlock it lies within the Elemental Blades of the ninja and kunoichi."

"Wait…our Blades have the answer?" Nya wanted to confirm. Misako nodded.

"Well how do we do that?" Zane asked the same question everyone else had. "We cannot simply ask them to grant us those powers."

"Yes, that is right, Zane," Garmadon said. He was still trying to fit in to the group. He felt out of place, an aside for Wu and Misako. "You cannot ask your Blade for the powers your ultimate potential holds. BUT, you can get to know it better and strengthen the bond you share with it."

Jay and Kai chuckled. "Haha, it sounds funny," the blue ninja explained his laughter.

"Yeah. It just sounds weird that we have to make a closer bond with a… _thing_ , not even a person," the red ninja gave a real explanation.

"It may sound weird, but please, try and understand your Blade rather than trying to use it only for its power," Wu gave some more advice. "It may help so you become closer. Then you will know what you need to in order to unlock your ultimate potential."

"Do you three know what we should know?" Reyna asked the teachers.

They all looked at each, hesitant to answer. "Yes, we do," Misako was the one to give the answer. "But we would prefer if you find out yourselves."

"Try and get to know what your Blade is like," Garmadon gave one final piece of advice.

The three adults left the room to go do whatever they do in their spare time. "So, what are you guys going to do?" Zoe asked the ninja and kunoichi.

"We have to know more about our Blades," Zane repeated. "So we must figure it out."

"Figure what out?" Astra asked the nindroid.

"How we can unlock our ultimate potential," he responded. "Right now, we are not even close to strong enough to beat the Five. We must do this."

"Yeah, well, Zane, got any ideas?" Jay asked him hopefully. "You're a robot, you're smart, you should a thing or two!"

The white ninja thought about the question. "Perhaps…just…know more about it?" He was quite clueless, which left everyone else dumbfounded.

"Maybe their personality, and see how it relates to ours," Brisa suggested.

Cole snapped his fingers. "That could work! If our personalities and goals become one, it could happen!"

"But there is a very minor obstacle to that," the white ninja said aloud. "It is very unlikely for our Blades to have come with a personality. There has to be a reason for why they are the way they are."

The red and blue ninja were beginning to think that either they were crazy…or everyone else was.

"You know, this all sounds super weird," the red ninja said. "I mean, a sword has feelings? I feel like we're going crazy now."

"Yeah, talking, mind-reading swords are weird enough, but when a weapon starts to have feelings and a personality…that's taking it far," the blue ninja added on.

Nya looked at the two. "We know it's weird. But if that's how we're going to save Ninjago once again, then we have to do it."

"Zane, you said something about why the sword is the way it is," Reyna recalled from a few moments ago. "If it's true that we should know that, then wouldn't that lead us to knowing the Blade's history? Or its past?"

"That makes sense!" Lloyd exclaimed suddenly. "When you're growing up, your personality changes based on your experiences. That made who you are today!"

"Reyna, Lloyd…" Zane said with a big smile. "It all makes sense. We should learn the history of the Blade. Find out things such as if they had a previous owner, what that person was like, and anything else you may think of."

"And their goals, remember that, guys," Brisa recommended. "We should work towards a common goal with it."

"Well boys," Cole said to Jay, Kai, and Zane. "Looks like we should start now."

Nya turned to Reyna, Brisa, and Astra. "Of us four, only Reyna unlocked her true potential, so it makes sense for her to start. Us on the other hand…"

"We need to unlock our true potential first…" Astra sighed.

"And learn Spinjitzu still…" Brisa sighed even more.

"Don't worry, you guys will get there!" Zoe exclaimed. "I may not have a fancy Blade like you guys, but I need to work towards my Spinjitzu and true potential as well!"

"We're in it together!" Reyna cheered them on.

The battle was just about to get started.

* * *

 **The title was based off the fact that "true potential" or "full potential" was a lie and that is not the strongest they could get. Hurray for a bad-ish pun?**

 **Hope you liked it!**


	40. Loving

**Been a long while again...I was super busy all of last week and any time I had at home I spent doing other things. Anyways, I'm kind of going to rush this story now because it's kind of boring until their ultimate potential and the final battle. That's really all that's left...just need to add some villain appearances to unlock true potentials and meeting the enemies' master. Also, this story's first birthday was two days before the last time I updated it (June 27 was when I last updated it) and almost reached 100,000 words...next chapter will do it.**

 **Hope you like it!**

* * *

Chapter 40: Loving

The next destination was to get to Reyna's hometown, Raylea. It had been a while since the teal kunoichi had seen her parents and her brother, and she only received letters from them. She couldn't wait to get there, which wasn't long considering the Bounty had been in flight for a while now. She decided to check the bridge and ask anyone that was there. However, when she went to the bridge, she was disappointed to find nobody there. Instead, she looked out the window, and sure enough in the distance, she could see her town.

"Yes! We're almost there!" she exclaimed in excitement.

Well within an hour, the Bounty arrived and landed on the ground.

"Do we all have to go?" Lloyd asked with a bit of his "complaining voice".

His mom shook her head. "No, there are a lot of us, and not all of us even need to go."

"Well, I'm going only because I haven't been there," Brisa said happily. "Need to walk around in a bigger area, too."

The ninja and kunoichi made up their mind of where or what they were going to do. Kai and Brisa decided they were going to walk around the town. Jay, Cole, Reyna, Wu, and Misako were going to go to the house. The rest of them were going to stay on the Bounty.

"Nya, why don't you come along too?" the blue ninja tried coaxing her.

She shook her head. "Sorry, Jay, but I have some things to do here. I might come a bit later, although I doubt that."

"Whatever. Can we just get going now?" Cole asked impatiently. They still needed to visit Zoe's parents after as well, although they were in Ninjago City.

Everyone that was going to leave left the ship. Kai and Brisa walked off away from the rest of them and just took a short break from the rest of the people on the Bounty. Sometimes, it's hard for them to talk around other people, especially knowing that the others would just taunt and tease them if they tried.

"So, where should we go?" Kai asked Brisa once they were separated from the rest of the group.

She shrugged. "Nowhere in particular. Just walk around and talk. That's all I really had in mind, you know?" She looked at him with a smile.

"Well, if you say so, then we'll just walk around the town…"

* * *

The other group had arrived at Reyna's house. Like the last time, Rob, Reyna's younger brother, opened the door. "Reyna! We weren't expecting to see you!" he said in amazement. "And there are less people than last time. What happened to them?"

"Nothing happened," Reyna replied with a smile. "They're either on the Bounty or somewhere in town. Otherwise, nothing's really _happened_ to them." She stepped into her house, and the rest of them followed suit.

They walked into the living room and saw a bunch of comic books lying around on the sofa and the table. Cole walked over to one of them. He saw very familiar faces on the page that was open. "It's us!" he exclaimed. "We're now in a comic book!"

"Yeah, and look at this!" Rob picked up a different book and turned a few pages. He then showed the page he was looking at to the whole group.

"Is that the Overlord?" Nya asked.

"Hey, why does Zane get to be the one to beat the Overlord?" Jay was upset. "It should be me!"

"Would you want to sacrifice yourself, Jay?" Sensei Wu asked him seriously. "That is what Zane did when we were faced by the threat of the Overlord for the second time. Do you remember?"

The blue ninja went quiet after that. Instead, Reyna was the one to talk. "Ohhhhh, right! I remember hearing that before!"

"Yeah, this is about the second time the Overlord came. I have the first one somewhere too," Rob happily informed them.

"Well, where are your parents?" Nya asked Rob.

He shrugged. "They said they'd be back in some time, but they didn't say where they were going."

Sensei Wu moved some of the books that were behind him onto the table and sat down. "No matter. We can wait until they come."

Rob took the rest of his comic books and dumped them on the table. There were a lot, possibly more than what Lloyd has with him.

"Lloyd isn't here?" Rob asked sadly. "I wanted to show him some of my new comics…"

"It's okay, Rob," his sister patted his head like he was a dog. "I'll tell him to come here the next time I come home."

"So you're leaving again?!" he asked. "It gets boring…"

Reyna nodded with a bit of regret. "Yeah. We still haven't beaten the evil guys, whatever they want to do. But we will, don't you worry."

Hearing Reyna talk about their enemies got Wu and Misako thinking about what the motives behind their actions could be. They did not seem, at all, like a generic villain who wanted to destroy everything like you would find in a book. Perhaps it was because that is their very nature? At any rate, they would have to find out.

* * *

On the other side of town, Kai and Brisa were walking past a bunch of flower shops. There were a few people here and there, but it was a pretty empty street.

"I still can't believe my parents haven't understood why I became a kunoichi," Brisa was getting furious at them. "Can't they see it's for a good reason?!"

"Maybe if we went back, we could explain to them again," the red ninja suggested.

She shook her head. "I don't think we have time to do that."

"Sure we do!" he replied. "We can always train on our way to your house again. Right now, the other ninja and I need to work on becoming closer with our Blades. That's a good time to do it."

"We still have to go to Zoe's house or apartment or whatever too," she countered. "And we can't keep wasting time going places when we also need to find out where the Five could be hiding."

Kai thought to himself. She was right. The Five could easily find them, but they had no idea where they were. If they did, it may make the final battle a little easier. "I guess you're right," he admitted. "But then the only other option you have is to use and send letters to them."

She shrugged. "That's fine, so long as the letters can make my parents understand how I feel."

They walked in silence for a bit. "How about we talk about something else? Something a bit more…I don't know…happy?" the red ninja asked.

The silver kunoichi nodded. "Like what?"

Kai was stumped. He hadn't thought of what that something could be. _Think Kai, think._

 _Why not ask about her training?_ Flameleaper suggested. Despite not being in the ninja's hand, the Blade could still hear him think and talk to him. If the Blade was touching its wielders' body at any time, it knows the thoughts of that person.

 _Good idea,_ he responded back in agreement. "So, how's your training going?"

She looked at him, a bit skeptical. "You know, don't you? I still need to do Spinjitzu and unlock your true potential." She sighed to give herself a break. "I still have a long way to go to get to you guys. You guys are going towards your ultimate potential!"

Kai swallowed back. Her training progress clearly wasn't a happy topic for her either. _Any other ideas?_ he asked his Blade, but Flameleaper remained quiet.

It was at that moment that he noticed some familiar faces walking out of a flower shop. "Oh, no…" he mumbled.

Brisa stopped and looked at him. "What?" she asked.

He pointed in the direction of where the people were. "Who are they?" the wind kunoichi asked.

As if they knew, somebody was pointing at them and watching them, they turned a bit and saw Kai and Brisa. "Oh, look, it's Kai!" the man said. The two walked closer to the ninja and kunoichi until they were face-to-face.

"Who are they?" Brisa asked again, this time in a whisper so they wouldn't hear.

"Uh, hi, Mr. and Mrs. Alonzo!" Kai greeted with a smile, hand behind his head, ignoring what the kunoichi beside him had said. He was _not_ expecting to see Reyna's parents while they were out walking. Now they would be taken to the house, ruining their plans of talking to each other without anybody else being close by. Not like any of the people that heard them throughout the town were going to see them again, so it's not like Kai and Brisa had anything to worry about for that. "How have you two been?" he asked politely.

"We've been fine," Mrs. Alonzo replied as nicely as she was asked. "And who is this young lady? I don't recall seeing her last time."

"This…this is Brisa," Kai introduced her to Reyna's parents. "She's the kunoichi of wind. Brisa, these are Reyna's parents, Mr. and Mrs. Alonzo."

She lifted her head up high, and then nodded it. "Oh, that explains how you know them. Nice to meet you." She held out a hand for them to shake it. Mr. Alonzo shook it, with one hand occupied by holding a shopping bag.

"Nice to meet you as well, Brisa," Mr. Alonzo responded. Mrs. Alonzo also shook her hand after her husband. "What are you two doing out here, if you don't mind my asking?"

Kai looked surprised. "Uh…we were just…walking around the town."

Brisa could tell that Kai was very caught off guard. It surprised him a lot. "Yeah, we just felt like we needed some time away from the others." The two parents looked like they were analyzing the ninja and the kunoichi. "Speaking of the others, they're at your house. I'm sure Reyna is waiting for you," she added with a smile.

"But would you like to come along with us?" Mrs. Alonzo asked. Kai and Brisa looked at each other, wondering what to say.

"You two can go on," Kai answered at last, although a bit nervously. "We'll come by later." He left out the part that they had no idea how long Reyna and the others were going to take at the house, but it couldn't be long. That way, if they were to leave Raylea quickly, Kai and Brisa could go straight to the Bounty.

The two parents analyzed them yet again. "Ah, young love, I see," Mr. Alonzo said almost teasingly. Both, ninja and kunoichi, blushed at the comment.

 _Great,_ Kai said. _When I actually thought we could walk and talk in peace without others teasing us…but nope, not going to happen._

 _Don't worry, many others will likely do this in your life as well,_ Flameleaper responded. _Not trying to tease you, by the way._

"I haven't been to your house, actually," Brisa started. "So I'd like to."

Kai shot her a glance, but the wind kunoichi ignored it by not even looking at him. "Well then, come along with us!" Mrs. Alonzo exclaimed happily. They followed as they were lead through many gravel roads. The whole time, Kai felt like yelling at Brisa. Here they were, alone for once, and she just threw away that opportunity.

They arrived at the house shortly after. When they entered the house, first and foremost, Reyna ran to her parents and hugged them. "Mom! Dad!" Reyna was clearly happy to see them.

"Hey, Reyna! How are you?" her dad asked. Both mom and dad were quite excited to see their daughter and wanted to ask about her adventures so far with the ninja and the other kunoichi.

Meanwhile, everyone else was surprised to see Kai and Brisa there with them. "Why are you guys here?" Jay asked them with genuine curiosity. "Weren't you out on a walk?"

Kai nodded in response to his question. "We were, until we saw them. Then we started talking and introduced them to Brisa and stuff. They asked if we wanted to come here, and Brisa said yeah."

"Well, nice of you to join us," Misako said with a smile.

After that, the Alonzo family got around to asking about their adventures so far. "So, is it all over yet?" Mrs. Alonzo asked.

Reyna shook her head. "No. There's still a while. A month, maybe? Maybe even longer."

Wu nodded in agreement. "Yes, there is still time before the final battle. The ninja and kunoichi have lots of training left."

Then Reyna went into a story mode and told them about how she learnt Spinjitzu and unlocked her true potential. "Somehow, I'm the first kunoichi to unlock her true potential," she added at the end with humbleness.

"What do you mean 'somehow'?" Nya asked. "You deserve it!" The cyan kunoichi was telling the truth of how she felt. She didn't know why the teal kunoichi was being so modest. It was something to be proud of.

At the end of the story, Reyna's parents had a mix of feelings, but her brother Rob was so amazed. "That's so cool! This stuff sounds awesome!"

Nobody had the heart to tell him that being a hero isn't awesome. It's life-risking work that's also hard to train for and definitely complete the mission they are assigned.

After 20 more minutes of talking, the group decided that they would leave.

"Stay safe, Reyna," her parents told her.

"I will," she promised. With some goodbyes to her family, they left and went back to the outskirts of the town where their ship lay.

* * *

 **I'm really looking forward to restarting King Me tbh (maybe with a new name...I need to think of one...sounds very childish). I actually thought of once again writing both stories at once because I have a bunch of ideas for it and it'll probably end up a better story than this one.**

 **Anyways, hope you liked it!**


	41. Advice

**Took a while to write this chapter, it's kind of boring. But I think things will get a little more interesting in the next few chapters, but there's still a lot of things I have to cover before this story is done. Story will likely be 50+ chapters in total, so there's a while left, and at the pace I'm writing right now, that'll be a long time...**

 **Hope you like it!**

* * *

Chapter 41: Advice

The next point of destination was Ninjago City, where Zoe had lived with her parents lived. It was the last place they had to go for a while, at least until this whole business with the Five was finished.

On the deck, Brisa and Zoe were training, getting some more physical exercise, while the ninja and the other kunoichi watched them. The silver and pink kunoichi were working on the training course. Sensei Wu had said that they were pressed on time, and they'd have to learn Spinjitzu a harder way, which was without fighting. "I have doubt that the Five would come to attack us again," he explained his reasoning. "The easiest way to unlock Spinjitzu is through a fight, but that is not going to happen easily now. Therefore, it is best to master the training course so you can put it into effect on the Bounty." Brisa and Zoe nodded. Brisa could more or less complete the training course, but Zoe…she needed more time. She hadn't done physical training much aside from exercises because she always focused on her own powers.

Brisa tried the training course, and did it with relative ease. Wu nodded. "That's good. Now to master it, you just have to do it faster."

"How much faster?" she asked him.

Wu thought for a moment. "10 seconds or less would be ideal."

Brisa's jaw dropped. "WHAT?!" she yelled. "Right now, I can do it in 20, maybe 15 if I do it flawlessly, but 10?! Come on!"

"To be fair, the rest of us can do it in under 10 seconds," Lloyd tried defending his uncle's goal for Brisa.

"Yeah, you just need to recognize patterns and stuff," Reyna tried helping out.

"What kind of patterns?" the silver kunoichi questioned.

"You know, when certain things happen in the training course," Nya elaborated on the teal kunoichi's pointer.

"And once you know how the course works-" Kai started.

"You'll know what to do at each part and how to improve," Jay promptly finished the sentence by cutting off the red ninja.

Brisa took in what they all had to say. "Makes sense. Should I take it more slowly?" she asked, to which everyone nodded their heads.

* * *

A little while later, the ninja decided to have a meeting for just themselves in their own room. All five ninja were present.

"So Cole, why did you want this 'meeting'?" Lloyd asked the leader. The ninja all turned and directed their attention to him.

"Well, we need to start learning more about our ultimate potential and stuff, remember?" he reminded them.

"Oh, yes, the final battle is drawing near," Zane added.

The black ninja nodded. "Exactly. That's why we need to focus more on this rather than the kunoichi's training."

"Zane, you said something about knowing the Blade's history a few days ago," Jay recalled. "You still think we should do that?"

The white ninja nodded. "Of course. I think that is the best way we will get to become closer with our Blades."

"Right now, we're just using them for their powers," Kai said. "Now, we need to understand them."

Lloyd looked at the other four ninja, then chimed in. "Hello? I don't have a Blade! So what do I do?"

The others turned to face him, completely clueless as to the problem Lloyd (and Zoe) would face trying to unlocking their ultimate potential.

"I think you should ask that to Sensei…" the blue ninja muttered. They all nodded in agreement.

The green ninja sighed. "I don't know why I expected anything different. Of course we don't know that answer!"

The black ninja was looking to say something that could maybe help, but nothing came to mind. "Well, I know we can't help Lloyd yet, but at least we can help each other. What do you think we should do?"

"Perhaps we should ask our Blades who their past owners were," the white ninja suggested.

"But what good does that do?" Kai asked with uncertainty.

The nindroid shrugged. "I am not completely sure myself, but at least we would know something about our Blades."

Jay shrugged as well. "Well, it's worth a shot. Not like we have anything better, do we?"

All the ninja shook their heads, and Lloyd got up. "You can guys can do whatever you want. I'm going to go ask my uncle what I have to do to unlock my ultimate potential."

The other ninja nodded in acknowledgement. "So," Cole broke the silence while holding his Blade, Quakesmasher, in his hand. "What do you guys say about trying out Zane's idea right now?"

The ninja all got out their Blades out as well and tried out the idea for themselves.

 _Hey, uh, Blade?_ Kai asked in his mind. He felt silly trying to talk to it.

 _Flameleaper,_ it corrected. _That's my name._

 _Yeah, yeah, whatever._ Kai didn't really care. _Did you hear what we were talking about?_

 _Of course I did,_ it responded. _But I'm not telling you the answer…not yet, at any rate._

 _What do you mean not yet?_ the ninja lashed out at his Blade. _We don't have a whole lot of time before we need to unlock our ultimate potentials!_

 _Yes, yes, I know. But let me give you the reason why I'm not telling you yet. You're just doing it for the sake of the power you may gain from knowing me better. However, that is selfish; you should be genuinely interested in the information you want._

 _I am genuinely interested…it's to save the world!_ the red ninja snapped. _Now tell me who your previous owner was,_ he said a lot more calmly.

 _Nope,_ Flameleaper remained silent to the question. _You need to actually be curious._

"Anyone else having trouble getting the answer out of them?" Cole asked aloud.

Jay nodded. "Yeah. It's saying something about being truly curious…how can we have real curiosity for something we're doing because we have to?"

"Maybe we need to somehow show them that we really mean to stop the Five," Zane suggested anxiously.

Kai shook his head. "If the Blade didn't see that in us when we first touched it, they probably would've rejected us."

The earth ninja snapped his fingers at Kai. "He's right. It's something else that the Blades want to see…"

Jay thought for a moment, and then an idea came to him. "Oh! I know! You know how if you want to know someone, you'd actually put in the effort to talk to them?" When the ninja nodded, he continued. "Maybe they want us to be feeling the same way!"

 _That is correct,_ Voltstriker told the lightning ninja. Similarly, all the other Blades said the same thing to the other ninja.

The fire ninja rolled his eyes. "Look, I don't really have an intention of actually getting to know my sword."

 _Well then, no more power for you!_ Flameleaper told him harshly. _You can be on your own. See how you match up to Allen then._

Kai was stunned. How did Flameleaper know his name? _Wait how did you-?_ He couldn't even finish that sentence. _Did you hear him say his name? Or us?_

However, even with Kai's asking, Flameleaper remained silent. _So maybe you knew him from before, right?_

"What's the matter, Kai?" Jay asked the red ninja, who had a look of shock on his face.

"Somehow, my Blade knows the guy's name, the one that Brisa and I have to fight," he explained.

Cole shrugged. "No big deal about that. It probably heard his name when he told you or something."

"Unless the Blade knew him from before," Zane countered and said the exact same thing on the fire ninja's mind. "Which maybe isn't unlikely."

"Exactly!" Kai burst out in agreement. "That's what I asked, but it hasn't said a word in response."

The blue ninja wanted to keep the conversation from sounding crazy. "Don't worry too much. Right now, we should go see how Lloyd is doing with Sensei about his ultimate potential."

The ninja reluctantly agreed to see if Lloyd got any answers. They found him talking to Sensei Wu outside his room.

"Hello, ninja," Wu greeted them for once.

"Hey, Sensei," the black ninja returned the greeting.

"Lloyd, did you get any answers?" the red ninja asked him.

Unfortunately, Lloyd shook his head. "My guess is I'll have to unlock using my own strength and determination, just like when I became the Golden Ninja against the Overlord."

"Well, that isn't any easier than what we are doing," the white ninja admitted. "It is equally hard, in my opinion."

Jay nodded in agreement with Zane. "We actually have to have an interest in knowing more about our Blades. Can you believe that, Sensei?!"

The old man nodded. "Yes, I can believe it. I didn't think they'd give away information like that willingly."

All the ninja except for Zane narrowed their eyes. _So he knew…_ Kai muttered in his head.

"Well, thanks anyways, uncle," Lloyd said in a way that meant it was the end of their conversation. "I'm sure I can unlock it when the time comes." He turned around to leave and signalled to the ninja that they should also leave.

* * *

Garmadon and Misako were sitting in their room alone. They hadn't gotten much time alone since they were reunited, and this was the first time they could properly talk without anyone disturbing them.

"So, Misako, has Lloyd gotten use to you yet?" Garmadon asked his wife.

Remembering how Lloyd was still angry at her, she shook her head sadly. "Not yet, but I have worked on rebuilding our relationship several times. He doesn't seem to listen."

"He looks okay with me," Garmadon pointed out.

"But that's because he knows you had to leave," Misako countered with little emotion in her voice. "He didn't know why I left, but he knew you were evil at the time, so you had to do what you had to do. I, on the other hand, left for a reason he didn't know of."

Garmadon shrugged, defeated. He had nothing more to say to try and console her. "As Lloyd said himself, time heals all wounds, so he'll let time do its work."

"But I don't want to wait for time to do it, I want…no, I _need_ to fix our relation myself!" Misako lashed out unexpectedly. Garmadon looked surprised, but he wasn't scared at all by the reaction his wife had; rather, he was kind of expecting it.

"Maybe you should try helping him with something," Garmadon suggested. "He might accept you then. Give him advice, help him train, something of the sort."

Misako raised her head with a look of hope on her face. "That might work. Just maybe. But there's no harm in trying it." She paused and thought for a moment. "What should I help him with?"

"His ultimate potential," he replied immediately. "He doesn't have a Blade like the rest of the ninja and kunoichi do, so he will need help in unlocking it in the different way he needs to. Same goes for Zoe."

Misako felt like she had a glimpse of hope. It wasn't much, but it was certainly worth a try over just letting time soothe Lloyd down.

* * *

"Lloyd!" The green ninja heard the voice and recognized it as Zoe's. He turned around from the place he was sitting in and looked to the kunoichi. "What are you doing here?" she asked.

He turned back towards the deck and continued to stare into the sky. "Thinking about how I can unlock my ultimate potential. I don't have a Blade, so it'll be different."

The pink kunoichi sat down next to him, making the green ninja a little uncomfortable as he tried not to look at her. "Well, can you tell me what you thought of?" she asked another question.

He looked at her, his face puzzled as to why she would want to know right now. "Why do you need to know right now? Shouldn't you be focusing on other things? Healing, or maybe Spinjitzu?"

She started to look bummed out and frowned. "Wow, I thought you might've helped." She quickly got up and began to walk back inside.

"H-hey! Wait!" Lloyd yelled out and grabbed her hand. Both of them began blushing lightly, so Lloyd quickly let go of her hand. "I mean, I can tell you what Sensei told me, but…it's just not going to be really useful for you yet. That's all."

She shrugged at him. "Still, doesn't hurt to tell."

Lloyd sighed. "I unlocked my 'true potential' in my fight against the Overlord. I had an overwhelming desire to defeat him, and somehow that unlocked it. My uncle thinks we both will unlock our ultimate potential in a way similar to that."

Zoe looked skeptical about it. "Not very easy, is it? I can imagine that it would be hard."

Lloyd nodded. "It is hard."

* * *

 **This chapter builds on the story a bit, but nothing special really. As I said before, the following chapters will be more interesting. Thanks for reading and hope you kind of liked this chapter :p**


	42. Refreshed

**This chapter was actually really fast for me to write, it didn't take long. I also think it was pretty well written compared to recent chapters. Now if only I could always write like this, I'd have a chapter up every other day...**

 **Hope you like it!**

* * *

Chapter 42: Refreshed

Ninjago City was only a bit farther away from the Bounty's path. They had been flying for a while, and they would finally reach soon enough.

However, there was an ominous silence on the Bounty, almost as if there was a threat looming over them. Astra was worrying the whole crew on the Bounty, especially Zane, who had been running ideas through his head day and night to find out if anything could work to help her. He had gotten one idea, but Astra didn't want to follow.

Another thing was that Zoe was burdened of saving the yellow kunoichi via healing. She could only heal minor wounds, not something life threatening. However, she was hoping that the pressure on her could force herself to unlock it. Regardless, she did not stop training, and neither did Brisa, who also wanted to gain more control of her power by learning Spinjitzu. In a short amount of time, she had nearly mastered the training course, according to Sensei Wu.

Finally, there was the fact that the Blades of the ninja refused to tell them anything about their past unless the ninja were genuinely interested to hear the information. Reyna had also tried, and got a similar response from Vinewhipper. The four ninja plus Reyna struggled to think how they could actually ask their Blades with genuine curiosity.

Right now, Brisa and Zoe were doing the training course over and over. Brisa had come close to the 10 second mark like Wu had wanted of her, and Zoe had just gotten the hang of completing it slowly.

"How am I going to do Spinjitzu now?" Brisa asked once it was Zoe's turn to go.

"What do you mean how?" Misako inquired, confused.

"I mean, it's unlikely that we'll see the Five again till the final battle, and since Spinjitzu is most easily unlocked while fighting-"

"Oh, I understand what you mean," Misako cut her off before she could finish. "Well, you could always try going the motions of the training course without actually doing it. In other words, try a 'dry course', where you don't actually use it."

Wu nodded. "Yes. Instead, you only imitate the actions needed to complete it."

The silver kunoichi eyed them oddly. "And that'll give me the power to do Spinjitzu?"

The two teachers looked at each other. "More or less, yes," Wu responded. "That is how Misako and I learnt it. We didn't have to fight anything to use it."

She nodded enthusiastically. "Good to know. Maybe when I get past the 10 second mark, I'll be able to do Spinjitzu."

"Brisa, it's your turn!" Zoe called out to her teammate. She had just finished the course.

As much as she didn't want to do it again, she knew she had to. In order to get one step closer to her true potential, she would do it.

In about 10 minutes, the Bounty had landed safely outside Ninjago City. Sensei Wu had decided that training for Brisa and Zoe would continue in an hour for another hour, and they would go to Zoe's house in the afternoon so that she could meet her parents again.

"Did your parents ever know you left them to come with us?" Brisa asked the pink kunoichi.

She nodded. "I sent them a letter telling them that. They were fine with it."

Hearing Zoe say her parents were fine with her going on a dangerous journey…and accepting that even _without_ saying that in person and instead in a letter…it made Brisa question her parents all the more.

Just before lunch, the mailman magically arrived. "It was so hard trying to find you guys!" he panted, out of breath. "Luckily, I just saw the ship fly by earlier this morning. Take your mail, so that I can leave!"

Cole chuckled at the mailman. "Sorry about that. We're ninja. We have to do what we have to do."

There was a letter for Jay, Cole, Astra, Reyna, Zoe, and, surprisingly…Brisa. The silver kunoichi didn't think much of it. Probably another angry letter from her parents, saying how she should come back, blah blah blah. She put it on her bed in her room and came back to eat lunch.

* * *

After lunch, the letter was nagging away at Brisa; she wanted to know what was written in it. For some reason, this one just seemed…different; almost as if they had a change in heart, perhaps.

"Why don't you open the letter you got?" Kai suggested to her as he walked past her and saw her holding the envelope. "You should be happy you even have parents to send you a letter. Nya and I don't."

She looked up at the fire ninja, feeling sorry for him. Sure, he could be angry and impatient at times, rushing through things and acting out of foolishness, but he could also be caring and thoughtful when you needed him to be. A lot like her, actually…or at least what she was like before becoming a kunoichi. She felt that she had changed quite a bit since then.

"Thanks, Kai," she spoke softly. "I'll open it." She gave him a grateful smile, and the red ninja returned it and walked away. She teared the envelope open and looked at the paper inside. It had her mom's signature writing in it, with her dad's writing style thrown into it.

She began to read it. _Dear Brisa,_

 _When you first went with the ninja and the other kunoichi on their quest, we thought it would be very dangerous for someone with no fighting experience like you. You weren't a physical fighter or anything, but you were, always, a freedom fighter. You always wanted to do what you wanted, but we didn't allow you to do so. We imposed too many limits on you. We now understand why you went against us this time around: it gave you a new opportunity leading to many new experiences. Not many people would be able to travel and help the ninja like you can now. That day those five guys took us away from you…we were scared a lot of what they would do to us. And then we saw you and the other people on your side helping to stop them. We realized that you made the right choice of going with the ninja and kunoichi. Later, when the town was angry at you guys, we defended you. And then later, when we were alone, we acted like we were still unhappy and upset with you. Well, let us just tell you that that was just a joke! A cruel one, maybe, but we were kidding around. Both of us and your grandparents agree that you made the right choice. So please, if you were ever angry at us like we were with you, let that go and forgive us. We support you in what you're doing!_

 _Sincerely,_

 _Mom & Dad_

Brisa felt her eyes getting filled with tears towards the end. She was boiling on the inside, angry that they called that a _joke_. But she couldn't bring herself to be angry at them anymore, not after this letter. Instead, she felt happy that her parents finally came to an understanding of why she chose to go on this path.

Her thoughts were interrupted by Sensei Wu calling her outside. It was time for her and Zoe's one hour training, followed by going to Zoe's place afterwards.

Outside, she felt the wind blowing in her face and blowing her long auburn strands of hair around her face. It felt…refreshing. She came out with a brilliant and confident smile, but the only ones there to see it were Wu, Misako, and Zoe.

"Where are the ninja, kunoichi, and… _Sensei_ Garmadon?" She remembered to say sensei in front of his name as Wu and Misako had advised.

"They are all inside, minding their own business," Wu answered.

She nodded, giving him the signal that she was ready. But just before she was going to complete the course another time, she felt a surge of energy bubbling up inside her. She sprinted through the course at record time, and right after she landed, she suddenly began spinning around in a tornado of silver energy. The tornado blew more wind around them.

When she stopped, she looked at the three people watching her. Zoe was amazed, Misako was smiling, and Wu was pleased. "That…that kind of felt like Spinjitzu. Am I right?"

"It _was_ Spinjitzu!" Zoe burst out. She ran forward and hugged the wind kunoichi out of happiness. "That's great! You're one step closer to your true potential!"

Wu nodded, still smiling a bit with his eyes closed. "Zoe is right. You are one step closer. I want to know what was with the sudden change since before lunch, but I think I will ask later. For now, let Zoe try."

Both of the kunoichi nodded. Zoe went on to continue her physical training. Off to the side, Misako instructed Brisa about controlling her element more.

* * *

In the family room, all the ninja except for Zane were sitting around, lazily playing video games. None of them seemed very into it like they usually would. There was mostly one reason for this: Zane had become a lot more distant from them lately. He had become so busy taking care of Astra, and the ninja wanted to do something to help, but they didn't know what.

"Why are we all so bummed out?" Lloyd asked. He himself wasn't exactly sad, but seeing his brothers like that also put him out of the mood.

"I guess it's because Zane isn't like his usual self," Cole guessed on behalf of the rest of the ninja.

"Yeah, his top priority right now is Astra, and we're not even helping." Even Jay wasn't in his usual cheerful and jokester self.

"Why don't we ask if we can do something?" Kai suggested. "Or at least ask how he's doing, and maybe try cheering him up."

The green ninja sighed. "If we can't make ourselves happy, how are we going to make him happy?"

"We have to try," the earth ninja said hopefully. To his relief, the others nodded.

They went to the kunoichi's room and found Zane there, laying down on a bed, while Astra was sleeping in hers.

"Hey Zane, how's it going?" Jay asked as cheerfully as he could.

"Not very well," he responded. He didn't even open his eyes to look at them.

Cole took a seat on the floor next to the bed Zane was on. "Zane, we know you and Astra are going through a tough time, but…I think we all want to help you. Everyone on this ship does."

The ice ninja nodded, still keeping his eyes closed. "Sensei Wu and Misako tried to help as well. They talked to her a lot over the past week or two, but I don't think Astra took their help."

The ninja lowered their heads. If Astra hadn't taken any help she could've, then she probably gave up. That's what the ninja were thinking, but they dared not to say it in front of Zane. Then again, Zane was smart enough to figure that out on his own anyway, but he wouldn't accept that.

"Have you got any ideas?" the red ninja asked Zane.

The nindroid nodded, bringing a small smile to each of their faces. "I haven't told Astra yet, and she most likely won't like the idea, but I am going to do it anyways. I will take her to the hospital when she wakes up, regardless of how useless it is."

"Why didn't we think of that before…" the blue ninja mumbled.

"Because we were too focused on trying to make Astra happy." Now Zane opened his eyes and sat up on the bed, looking at the only brothers he ever had. "Or at least I was."

Cole stood up and patted Zane on his shoulder. "It's not too late. It's _never_ too late, actually. Everything is going to be fine."

The white ninja nodded, although quite miserably and sad. "I hope. Zoe is the last hope."

Hearing this, Lloyd became tense. He knew the pressure was on Zoe, but he simply couldn't help her. He didn't know anything to help her with, so he had to trust her to unlock healing powers on her own. "Well, if it makes you feel any better, she can heal…just can't heal major things."

Zane nodded. "Yes, I know, Lloyd. But time is running out, and I'm not sure how much time is left."

"It'll happen," Kai said happily. "We all know it. We just have to wait."

Just at that moment, Astra woke up groggily and sat up in her bed. "Oh, hi guys," she said weakly to the ninja. "How long have you been here?"

"Not too long," Jay quickly replied. "Only a few minutes."

She nodded, and fell back down on her pillow. "Astra," Zane called out softly. "I need to tell you something."

"What is it?" The kunoichi's voice was faint, but it was heard.

"I-I know you won't like it, but I am taking you to Ninjago City's hospital," he said firmly. "No disagreements. Even if it is useless, you're still going."

She did something that looked like a nod. "I had a feeling you'd say that, so let's just go."

The white ninja was shocked that she actually agreed so quickly. But he nodded in understanding and went to her.

* * *

 **Brisa learns Spinjitzu, and a major mental obstacle was cleared of her way when she found out her parents actually weren't mad at her. Meanwhile, Astra's final moments are coming soon. Will Zoe unlock her healing powers before then? Things also get interesting at the hospital (although the part I am referring to is a few chapters away), and I'll have to write it right to make it cool. Or I could just be, you know, hyping it up even though it probably won't end up being that good... :P**

 **Hope you liked it!**


	43. The Return

**Finally another chapter! Took a bit long, and I don't really like what happens in the chapter but...I guess I can only blame myself because I chose this plot lol. It'll end soon enough, and this story will be back on track :D Ultimate potential stuff will also start again very soon.**

 **Hope you like it! More than I did...**

* * *

Chapter 43: The Return

Zane helped Astra get out of her bed, and seeing this, Cole also went to help out just in case.

"I think you should tell Sensei Wu," Jay told Zane.

He nodded. "I will. But would you help me and come with me? It is not an easy task to go alone."

The ninja nodded. "Of course, Zane. We're all behind you," Cole told him. The white ninja looked grateful to his brothers for being so understanding.

They went out to the Bounty to find Sensei Wu there along with Misako and Garmadon.

"It's a pleasant surprise to see you here, Astra," Wu said when he noticed them.

Zane nodded, almost like he was nodding for her. "Sensei…I thought it over a lot, and I decided that I will take Astra to the hospital now, even if it is useless to do so."

"Has she agreed to it?" he asked. The ice ninja nodded. "Good. Then you have my permission, and Garmadon's and Misako's as well, right?" Wu turned to the other two, and they nodded as well.

"And we're going along with him," Kai informed his teachers.

Wu agreed with a nod of his head. "Yes, I imagine you would like to."

"But Lloyd, we're going to Zoe's house soon, so maybe…" Misako trailed off, hoping her son would know what she was trying to get to.

"Yeah, yeah, okay, I'll stay back here," he sighed, kind of annoyed that he wouldn't be able to go with the ninja.

Misako actually smiled. _At least there was one thing he listened to me about,_ she thought in her head.

Jay elbowed the green ninja. "Good luck at Zoe's house," he said tauntingly.

The green ninja rolled his eyes. "I'm not going there for a marriage proposal or something."

Everyone laughed a bit. "We'll be on our way right now…right Zane?" Cole asked the nindroid.

He nodded. "But there is one problem: how are we getting there?"

"Oh, uh…bus, maybe?" the blue ninja tried to be helpful, but going by bus wasn't a good idea when they would be swarmed immediately if anyone recognized them.

The black ninja shook his head. "Everyone would crowd over us. I don't think we want that, not right now at any rate."

"Can we just get the Bounty to fly us over there?" the red ninja suggested. "They have helicopter pads at the top of the hospital, but, I don't think…that they would have places for flying ships…" Kai felt his idea was good at first, but as he continued talking, he realized it was kind of dumb.

"Actually, that doesn't sound like a bad idea," Garmadon put in. "You are the ninja, so you should be able to do that when in need at a time like this."

"It's possible, and we don't have a better choice, I think," the earth ninja added his opinion on Kai's idea. "Let's get Nya to fly it there."

The lightning ninja coughed. "Forgetting something?"

Cole looked at him weirdly. "What am I forgetting?"

Jay looked almost sad, but it was too small of a thing to actually be sad over it. " _I_ can fly the Bounty too! Nya and I worked on it together! If I did that much, don't you think I can operate it as well?!" Jay went on a little rant.

"Okay, but don't blame me if they start asking why the Bounty's moving," the earth ninja put his hands up in surrender.

The green ninja rolled his eyes. "You know you can tell them, right?"

Cole felt stupid and embarrassed around his teammates and teachers. "Um, you're right!" With that said, he dashed off inside before he could do something silly again.

Jay turned and looked in direction Cole ran off to. "Well, I guess I should start firing up the Bounty," he said to the others as if he was planning on doing something else. He didn't hear anyone say anything, so he walked inside and headed to the bridge.

"I guess we'll just stay here?" Kai asked and asserted at the same time. Not knowing what else to do, Zane nodded and sat down. Astra purposely fell down beside him.

* * *

Inside, Cole was looking for the kunoichi to tell them about the situation and what they were going to do. He heard yelling coming from their living room, although muffled by the closed door. He opened it and was surprised to see the kunoichi, and they were surprised to see him. There was an awkward silence.

"Hi Cole," Nya broke the silence with a weird smile.

"Uh, hi," he replied, furrowing his bushy eyebrows in a way that made him look confused.

"We can play video games too, you know," Brisa said defensively.

"I know, but I'm just shocked that you actually are," the black ninja replied. "Anyways, that's not what I'm here for. I just wanted to tell you that Zane has decided to take Astra to the Ninjago City Hospital, and we're taking the Bounty to get there from the roof."

There was another shocked silence. Finally, Reyna spoke up. "Did Astra agree to that? Doesn't she find that useless?"

Cole nodded. "Yes, Astra agreed, and yes, she does find it useless, or so I think. Regardless, she still agreed without hesitating at all."

"Well, we're with you guys," Nya assured the earth ninja.

The pink kunoichi nodded. "Yeah. It also brings us closer to my parent's apartment if we go in the city."

"Yeah, well, I just wanted to tell you guys so you don't ask us when you feel the Bounty moving," Cole explained his reasoning for telling them all of this.

Brisa nodded. "We understand. Do you need any of us to go with Zane and Astra?"

The ninja shrugged. "All of us are minus Lloyd are going. If any of you want to come with us, that's fine."

"But I want at least one of you to come with me to my apartment!" Zoe whined sadly.

"We are coming," Reyna assured her. "At least…most of us are."

"I think if Astra had one of us with her, it might help a teensy bit," the cyan kunoichi explained. Everyone nodded in agreement.

"Well, it's up to you to decide," Cole said at last, getting ready to go to the bridge. "Any of you can come if you want." He left the kunoichi to talk and decide on their own, and so he went to the bridge to see if the other ninja were there. However, he was surprised to see only Jay there. "Hey Jay, is everybody else still outside?"

He nodded without even turning around. "If they haven't come inside yet, then yeah they're still outside. Did you tell the kunoichi? I'm about to take off."

The black ninja nodded, even though the other ninja couldn't see him. "Yeah, I told them. Some of them might come with us, but they're going to decide that."

"Okay, well, we're going up now," the blue ninja told him after he finally turned around to talk to him.

"I'll be outside…or in my room," Cole said as he was about to leave. "Not sure where." With that, he left and went outside.

* * *

As weird as it felt to him, Zane called the hospital, telling them of the situation. He explained to them that he was a ninja and that they had a quest to find five girl ninja – or, kunoichi, as they should be called. He also told them that one of them had a disease that she couldn't get care for due to financial reasons. Another tidbit of information he gave was that they were coming on the Bounty and would come down from the roof. The phone operator he talked to agreed to let them in and that someone would escort them to the places they would need to go to. That was some relief for the nindroid and everyone else on the Bounty when he told them.

The Bounty arrived at the hospital shortly. After all, they were at the edge of the city when they started. They didn't land it, but it hovered a bit above the building because there wasn't a whole lot of space for the ship to land.

Not wanting to jump off the Bounty, the ninja had to find another way for Astra to get down.

"Why can't Cole just pick her up and jump down?" Jay asked impatiently. It sounded a lot like his usual crazy ideas, but it actually wasn't a bad one this time around.

Cole felt kind of uncomfortable. "I don't know about that. That sounds…weird."

"Got a better idea?" the lightning ninja challenged. To his credit, the earth ninja shook his head for a no.

And so Cole picked the yellow kunoichi up – who was very light because she didn't eat much – and jumped down first. The extra pressure on his feet made his ankles hurt, but it would go away in a little while. The rest of the ninja jumped down afterwards. They saw two people at a door on the top of the roof, which is what they assumed to be an elevator, and the two people waved at them. They also had a wheelchair ready. Just as the ninja were walking to them, they heard a shout from above.

"Wait!" It was Reyna's voice. "I'm coming too!"

The ninja turned around and waited for the teal kunoichi. Reyna jumped down without a problem and joined up with them. "As a kunoichi, I should come along too, just so there's another girl. No objections."

The ninja looked at each other. "I don't think we have any," Kai told her with very little expression in his voice.

They all walked to the people waiting for them. As they got closer, they noticed that one was a man and the other was a woman.

"Quite a large group we got here, right?" the man said when they were face to face with each other. The ninja and kunoichi nodded.

"Well, I'd recommend she gets in the wheelchair – it may be a lot of walking," the woman told them. Surely enough, Astra sat in down in the wheelchair.

"The elevator should be big enough," the man said with uncertainty.

"Doesn't really matter, we can take the stairs if we need to," Cole informed him. Regardless, they all went into the elevator and fit in without too much difficulty.

The first thing they did was to go and do a bunch of tests. Each of them took a while. "Looks like we're just going to be waiting all day…" Jay muttered to the ninja while Astra was in some scan.

* * *

On the Bounty, Nya was steering the Bounty back to the outskirts of Ninjago City. She wanted to go with the ninja and Astra, but seeing how anybody else that could fly the Bounty was also going, she had no choice but to stay back. Everybody else was out on the deck, waiting for the time when they could go to Zoe's apartment. The pink kunoichi was acting really happy that she was about to see her parents again, but there was always the healing problem that she might soon face.

Nya quickly landed the Bounty and went out to the deck to not be alone. Everyone seemed ready to get going with Zoe to her apartment.

"Are we all ready?" the pink kunoichi asked everyone. They all nodded, ready to go. "We'll have to walk or take the bus, whichever you want."

"Can we not take the bus?" Lloyd asked hopefully. "I'm going to get seen, and everyone is going to crowd around me. It'll delay us a lot."

"That's true," Nya said. "It would delay us a lot."

"Maybe we should just walk there?" Brisa suggested. "It might also delay us, but there's no other option really." Everyone agreed to simply walking to the apartment.

"How far is your apartment?" Misako asked Zoe.

She thought for a moment. "From where we are right now…maybe a 20 minute walk?"

They got off the Bounty and followed Zoe to her place. The whole time, everyone was worrying for Astra and wondering how the ninja and Reyna were doing.

Zoe was more or less correct on how long it took them to reach the place. Surprisingly, there weren't many people that they encountered on the way. Maybe it was because only Lloyd's face was really known to the public. After all, the public didn't know the ninja were searching for the kunoichi, so they were still unknown to the world.

The group went up to Zoe's apartment, which was on the fourth floor of the building. The kunoichi of life knocked on the door and it was opened to a familiar face: her mom. "Zoe! What a surprise!"

The kunoichi giggled. "Hey mom, long time no see! And these are some of the friends I made on this journey." She stepped aside so her mom could see who she was talking about.

"Those are a lot of guests…and you said they were only _some_ of the friends you made?"

Zoe nodded. "The rest are…um…somewhere else." She didn't want to specify exactly where they were. That would spark too much curiosity and worry in her mom.

"And there's only one ninja here?" her mom asked. "Oh, but he's the green ninja! That's a surprise as well! Anyways, come on in everyone, we can do the talking inside."

* * *

 **I want to get a couple more chapters in before this time next week...so expect maybe two chapters by then. After that, I'm gone for a week with no computer and I'll also be busy in the days after (maybe). Hope you liked it!**


	44. The Wait

**Okay, good, one chapter done before the weekend. I already need to start the second if I want to be done by Friday. I was originally going to stop the chapter suddenly by accident without realizing...but luckily I found that out and copied it to the next chapter.**

 **Hope you like it!**

* * *

Chapter 44: The Wait

The ninja, Reyna, and Astra were still at the hospital waiting around for Astra's hundredth test (exaggeration, of course). The doctors wanted to know exactly what the problem was.

"Hey guys," Reyna spoke up to the ninja, kind of unsure if she should say this. "I know this may not be a good time, but…why don't we talk about our ultimate potential? After all, we are just waiting around."

Cole looked skeptical, but he looked at Zane, who nodded. He was fine with it. "Yeah, I mean, almost everyone who can unlock their ultimate potential is here, so we could use this time wisely rather than sitting like zombies."

"Well, we're not getting any further without actually having interest in knowing our Blades," Kai said what he knew.

"And that's the hardest part," Jay said like he needed to remind them on that.

"I would not say it is the hardest part, but it is hard," Zane corrected. "But the question is…how are we supposed to do that?"

The teal kunoichi nodded. "Yeah, it's hard when we want to know something specific, and that we know we're going to get something out of it."

"We're going to be stuck on this forever!" the blue ninja complained. "What comes after this, anyways?"

"We do something with that information the Blades give us," the black ninja recalled from when he had asked Sensei Wu.

"What's that something?" the fire ninja asked. "That's the key to unlocking our ultimate potentials."

Cole shrugged. "I don't know. He wouldn't tell me."

"Well that's nice," Reyna said bitterly. "We don't know enough to do what he wants us to do."

"That's not going to stop us, is it?" Jay asked them like it was a rhetorical question. "Of course not!" He answered his own question…and on behalf of the others as well.

"What do you suggest, Jay?" Zane asked the blue ninja with actual curiosity. "We do not know of anything to do."

"Um well…" Being the chattiest of the ninja (therefore, the most sociable), it was probable for him to have some idea. "All I can say is to pretend you're meeting someone new…and we basically are, because we know very little about our Blades."

"That sounds about right," Reyna said. "But still, I'll feel weird knowing I'm trying to use them."

"I think we would all feel like that," Kai guessed. "But by all means, let's try it when we get back to the Bounty."

There was silence amongst the five for a while. Luckily for them, Astra came out of her scan soon after. They were then led a few floors up. They were told to wait for a few minutes while someone went to talk to a doctor on the floor. Shortly after, a group of four people came by.

"Hello, ninja and kunoichi, it's a pleasure to meet you," the one leading the group said, most likely being the doctor on the floor. "I am one of the doctors in this area."

The ninja and kunoichi also greeted the doctor one by one. "Are all the tests and scans done?" Zane anxiously asked.

The doctor nodded. "Yes, they are. I also got the results and found out about the problem immediately. Normally, it would take a day or two for us to figure out what is happening in a scan, but this was alarmingly obvious."

"And not in a good way, unfortunately," someone next to the doctor said with a sad look on their face.

The doctor nodded, also with a sad look. "I hate doing what I am going to do soon, but…if I were to talk about the next steps, would it be to all of you, or…?"

Cole looked at the white ninja. "It's up to you, buddy. Your call on who he talks to."

"I…I would prefer if all of you remain with me," the nindroid said at last. The ninja and Reyna nodded in understanding as to why Zane wanted that.

"Very well then. Follow me," the doctor said and turned around. The ninja and kunoichi as well as the three people that came with him followed behind. They walked down a hall to an empty room. There wasn't enough space for them to all sit, so a lot of them had to stand.

"I know none of you are going to be happy with the decision I am about to tell you," the doctor said slowly, and they all mentally prepared themselves for what was going to come. "But it is very much necessary. Astra will have to stay at the hospital until further notice. One of my colleagues is talking to her parents as we speak for information on past attempts to beat the disease, regardless of if they failed or not. We will go from there."

Zane took a sigh of relief. It was nothing near as bad as what he expected. "And how long will she stay here?"

Reyna nodded. "Yeah, we need her with us if we have any chance of saving Ninjago!"

The doctor gave a shrug. "I cannot say how long she will stay here. If you need to take her back, go ahead and do so." After he saw the fearful faces of the ninja and kunoichi, he sighed. "I'm sorry if that sounded harsh. I'm simply doing my job."

The white ninja nodded his head. "Yes, I understand. We will let you do what you need to."

"In that case, there is a room ready for her on this floor. We will take her there, but only one of you can stay with her. We don't have enough space in a room for more people." The ninja and Reyna all knew who that one person was going to be. It would, of course, be Zane.

Everyone stood up and left the room. The doctor had to leave, but he assured them that they would see him again. The other people lead them to the room Astra was to stay in for the next while.

After a bit of waiting, Astra was settled into the room with the rest of her friends around her. Machines were constantly checking her vital signs. "Soooooo….what do we do now?" Jay asked nobody in particular.

"If only one person can stay here, then should we leave?" Cole asked himself and the others.

Zane sat down on the small sofa in the room. "If you want to leave, go ahead. I will stay here."

"If we want to go back to the Bounty," Kai started, "We have to go through the city. Not a great idea, honestly."

"We should go," Reyna insisted. "We can't really do anything here, and we can't go to Zoe's place because we don't know where it is."

The ninja and Reyna said their farewells to Zane and Astra. "If you need anything, just tell us," Cole told the ice ninja before they left.

Unfortunately, as they were expecting, the Bounty was no longer at the top of the hospital, and they would have to walk back…unless they could find another place they could go to, but none came to mind. And so the three ninja and Reyna headed back to the Bounty and they were able to reach there without any difficulty at all. Being a Sunday, not many people were out because most people had Sundays off from work.

* * *

At Zoe's apartment, Lloyd, the kunoichi, and their three Sensei all sat down after getting some chairs.

"So tell me, Zoe," Zoe's mother started. "Why is there only one ninja here?"

"The other ninja had to do something else…but I wanted at least one of them to meet you, so it turned out to be Lloyd," her daughter explained.

Her mom lifted her head as if she understood. "Fair enough. And you are Lloyd, right?" she asked the green ninja.

"Yeah." That was the only reply Lloyd could give.

"How does it feel knowing you're the greatest hero of Ninjago since the First Spinjitzu Master?" she asked with a light-hearted expression.

"Um…good, I suppose," he responded, not knowing what exactly he should say. "I mean, everyone knows me, but it can get out of hand if we're walking down the streets of the city."

"Did anyone bother you today?" Mrs. Kristen asked. "It's a Sunday, so I'm assuming there aren't many people outside."

Zoe shook her head for a no. "Mom, where's dad?"

Her mom gave a false smile, but for what reason, nobody knew. "He had to go to work today…had we known you were coming, he would've taken the day off!"

"Oh, well, we wanted to surprise you," Zoe said with the truth in her response. "Or at least I did."

"It's fine, I'm sure he'll be back in an hour. Usually, he doesn't work full hours on Sundays," Mrs. Kristen explained to the others that didn't know.

"Are we going to wait for that hour?" Nya asked Sensei Wu.

Wu shrugged. "It is up to Zoe if she wants to stay here that long."

"I want to, but if you guys want to leave earlier, then that's fine…I'll come later," she said with a smile, being considerate that maybe her teammates don't want to wait around for that long.

"We'll wait a bit," Garmadon assured her. "We won't leave you so soon. After all, we haven't talked much with your mother either."

There was a silence that followed just after Garmadon finished his sentence. Nobody knew what to say.

"How is it like for you three to be a hero of Ninjago now?" Mrs. Kristen asked Zoe, Nya, and Brisa.

"Well, the public doesn't even know us yet," Nya explained as if she felt ashamed of it.

"Yeah, you see, we haven't been on TV yet," Brisa elaborated more on her teammate's point. "And that's because we haven't done much…"

"What do you mean you haven't done much?" Misako asked, almost upset that the silver kunoichi was thinking like that. "Didn't you help in beating the Five twice so far?"

"Well, the first time, I wasn't even a kunoichi," Brisa decided to correct and answer Misako's question. "The second time, I got frozen by the dark ice dude and couldn't do anything."

Zoe nodded. "Yup, I was in the same situation as her. I was frozen too, and I couldn't do anything."

Her mother looked worried for the two kunoichi. "What's all this about being frozen?" She turned to her daughter. "Zoe, why did you never tell me about this?"

"It wasn't that big of a deal, really," Brisa explained to try and help her figurative sister out. "Our feet got frozen, so we couldn't move. That's all."

"That is most certainly a big deal!" Mrs. Kristen almost scolded the wind kunoichi like she was her mom. "Being frozen could damage your feet!"

"Mom, relax, it happened once," the kunoichi of life tried calming her down. "It won't happen again. I promise."

Mrs. Kristen sat back in the sofa. "I guess I did get too carried away there," she admitted finally. "But anyways, how is the true potential stuff or whatever it's called going along?"

"The only kunoichi to have unlocked her true potential so far is Reyna, but she's not here," Misako responded. "She's helping the ninja with some things."

"Yeah, and I still have to learn Spinjitzu," the pink kunoichi informed her. "Then my true potential is the next step alongside Nya, Brisa, and Astra." She bit her tongue after she mentioned Astra's name…now they would have to explain who she is and where she was.

"Who's this Astra person? Never heard of her," her mother inquired, nosy as always.

"She's another kunoichi, the kunoichi of light," Sensei Wu replied. "She is also helping the ninja." He had to lie there to keep it going. By now, everyone knew that Zoe's mother was quite nosy and curious and wanted to know a lot. So to prevent her from knowing things they didn't want her to find out about, they had to lie, as much as Wu hated doing so.

After a bit more talking with Mrs. Kristen, everyone except Zoe and Lloyd decided to leave. As much as Lloyd wanted to go back to the Bounty, he knew he shouldn't because that's not what Zoe would want. The two would wait for Zoe's father to come home. The parting group said their goodbyes and left the apartment.

"Lloyd, why did you stay back? Do you really _want_ to stay here and wait for Zoe's dad to come home?" Mrs. Kristen asked as if she suspected Lloyd.

The green ninja really didn't feel like lying, so he had to tell the truth. "Not really, but…I'm sure Zoe would want someone to be with her when she goes back to the Bounty." Zoe felt all fluffy on the inside, and she smiled at his concern for her.

Seeing her daughter smile at what the ninja just said, Mrs. Kristen leaned back on the sofa once again. "Oh, I see how it is." She gave the two a smirk. "But…I won't interfere."

The ninja and kunoichi looked at each other, pretty sure of what she was talking about. Luckily, they were saved by the entrance of Zoe's father, Mr. Kristen.

* * *

 **Zoe's mom is nosy, and she's also teasing Lloyd and Zoe. Oh, and Kai still doesn't know that Brisa was able to learn Spinjitzu. It'll come up in the next chapter, but it's not going to be anything big.**

 **Thanks for reading!**


	45. Closer Ties

**Woooohoooo! I wrote this chapter in one day! Haven't done that since my last story which didn't have as many words as this one. I doubt I can write another one though, I'm done for today...wrote over 1200 words. Anyways, this chapter is just a progression chapter. There'll be more things in the next one.**

 **Hope you like it!**

* * *

Chapter 45: Closer Ties

"Dad! You're back!" Zoe exclaimed out of happiness and ran up to him like a little kid.

"Hey, Zoe! You're back too! What a nice surprise!" he exclaimed happily as well. "And who is this?" He focused his eyes more on Lloyd. "The green ninja?!"

Lloyd nodded modestly. He didn't know what to say besides a simple "yeah", so he figured an action would do fine.

"Anyone else here, or did they leave, or did they never come in the first place?" he asked Zoe.

"Oh, they left not too long ago," she replied back. "They were getting a bit tired of waiting for you…"

Lloyd cringed. Zoe made it sound like they were trying to be rude by leaving and not waiting for him. She at least could've said that they waited for a while and then decided to leave, and although she may have said something similar, it would've sounded nicer like that.

Fortunately, Mr. Kristen waved it aside. "No worries. You're here, and the biggest hero of Ninjago is also here. We don't really _need_ anyone else here, now do we?" He came over to the sofa and sat down. "So Lloyd, what's it like being a big hero? I can't even imagine such a thing!"

Lloyd smiled on the outside, but he sighed on the inside, if that were possible. He asked much the same question as his wife did. "It's not good or bad, really. You draw too much attention to yourself if you're out in public. But luckily today's a Sunday, so not many people out," Lloyd blurted the last sentence before Mr. Kristen had a chance to say it. The green ninja already knew all too well that both husband and wife were going to say very similar things.

Mr. Kristen thought to himself for a moment. "That's fair. There are ups and downs for being famous. So, why are you the only one here?"

Now Lloyd actually sighed, this time out of annoyance. This was an exact repeat of how his conversation with Zoe's mom went. "Zoe wanted someone to stay back so she could walk back with them. That's why."

"Not a bad idea, especially in a big city like this," he responded. "Never know what kinds of people would be out there, and having someone like you by her side must be nice."

This time, Lloyd was relieved that he said something different than what the mom said. They continued to talk for a bit before Zoe decided that they should leave.

"Are you sure, Zoe?" her mom asked. "You could stay here for the night if you're missing this place."

"No, I have to go train on the ship," Zoe replied immediately. "I'll see you soon!" With that said, she hugged her parents and ran out the door.

"Lloyd," Mrs. Kristen said to the green ninja after Zoe was gone. "Take care of our daughter."

He nodded with a smile. "Sure…I can do that." The two parents smiled at his response. "Bye!" he shouted and ran out the door as well. Both Lloyd and Zoe looked like complete kids when they did that.

When Lloyd and Zoe got outside, there were more people strolling the streets, but they pretended they didn't notice the people. "Man, did your parents completely plan out what they were going to say to me? They said the exact same thing, just with different words!"

Zoe laughed loudly. "Don't get so upset over it. It was a coincidence, that's all."

"That was some coincidence," Lloyd grumbled at her.

Zoe stopped her laughing. "Anyways, want to go somewhere?" she asked the ninja with a bright smile. "We're finally alone…"

"Uh…won't Sensei and everyone else get worried?"

"We can just tell them my dad took longer than expected to come." Zoe was insistent on going somewhere.

"But we can't go anywhere anyways," Lloyd defended his decision. "Neither of us have money, and we'll only be inviting people to come up to us. Even right now, people are looking at us, but we're ignoring them."

She looked around slowly and in a way that nobody would notice she's looking up. "I guess you're right. Let's just go to the Bounty."

* * *

On the Bounty, Cole and Jay found Kai lazily sitting in the video games room, doing nothing at all. "Hey, Kai," Cole said to the red ninja.

"Yeah, what's up?" he asked without getting up.

"So I heard…" Jay started.

"Heard what?"

"From Nya, about, you know…" the blue ninja continued.

Now Kai got up looking fearful. "Ugh, I told her not to tell anyone! It wasn't my fault that the training dummy went wild and started slapping me! Why can't she keep a secret like that?!"

Jay and Cole both burst out laughing while Kai glared at the two. "You find it funny? It hurt!"

"No, not that-" Cole began talking but was interrupted by his laughter.

"Actually, yes, that too," Jay calmed down. "But what we're really laughing at is that it actually worked!" The black and blue ninja gave each other a high five.

"Huh? What worked?" Kai asked curiously. "Did you make the dummy do that?"

"What? No!" Jay put up his hands.

"What he means to say is that we just wanted to see if what we said to you would work," Cole explained. "You know, the whole 'we heard something from Nya' part. We didn't actually know something happened-"

"Yeah, we just wanted to see if you would actually say anything embarrassing, and you did!" the lightning ninja cut the other ninja off.

Now Kai was actually dumbfounded...he couldn't believe something like that actually worked against him. He wasn't angry, or upset, or annoyed, or furious, but dumbfounded. "Man, you guys actually got me…" That made the other two ninja burst out into laughter once again.

Not long after the laughter stopped, Wu, Misako, Garmadon, Nya, and Brisa came back to the Bounty. Wu immediately ordered everyone to start training, including the ninja.

"How's Astra doing?" Misako asked the ninja just before they started training.

"Um, as good as she can be, I guess," Kai responded with uncertainty.

Misako nodded. "Understandable."

The ninja and kunoichi on the ship were to do physical training as opposed to elemental training, which was a surprise because the kunoichi should at least be working on controlling their elements and exploring how to use them.

Fortunately, when that was brought up to Sensei Wu's attention, he changed his mind. "Nya, Reyna, and Brisa…instead of doing physical exercises, you will use your Blades and explore what you can do. Ninja…" He turned to the three boys. "You will work on unlocking your ultimate potential."

"How exactly do we 'work on it'?" Cole asked, trying to get a hint out of him.

He shrugged in response. "Whether that means doing physical training, or discussing it…is completely up to you. Reyna, you are free to join them in this whenever you wish." Without another word, Wu walked back inside, leaving the ninja, kunoichi, Misako, and Garmadon outside.

"So they have their training," Jay said to the ninja. "But what are we going to do?"

"Sit down and talk about how we can get our Blades to cooperate," the black ninja gave the only idea he had. And so the ninja did sit down, and they talked about how they could ask their Blades about the past.

"Ugh! It's so frustrating!" The red ninja was clearly annoyed by the task they had. "We are curious to know about our Blades' history, but it's just for the sake of getting the power after that!"

Garmadon overheard their conversation and walked over. "I know Wu hasn't been very helpful to you lately," he started. "But I can help you."

"Yes! Please do!" the blue ninja begged him.

Garmadon crouched down. "You need to have a clear mind when you talk to your Blade. Concentrate only on the questions you ask and the answers it gives. My advice would be to mediate with your Blade right in front of you."

"That sounds a lot like something Sensei would do," Cole mused in a way that also made it sound like a bad thing.

"That's not necessarily a bad thing, is it?" Garmadon asked him like it was a trick question.

The earth ninja out his hands up. "No, not at all! We can try it. But how long do we do it for?"

"As long as it takes for you to clear your mind," Garmadon answered.

Misako, on the other hand, watched the kunoichi. Nya and Brisa were practicing Spinjitzu, enough so that they would be able to do it at will. So far, of the kunoichi, only Reyna could do that, but Nya and Brisa would soon be there.

Kai noticed the two doing Spinjitzu. "Woah, Brisa! When did you learn Spinjitzu?!"

"Um, just after lunch," she replied like it was no big deal.

"That's great!" the ninja exclaimed. "One step closer!"

"Kai, are you going to try meditating?" Garmadon asked almost sternly.

The red ninja looked at Garmadon, then at the other two ninja and saw that they were looking at him, not meditating either. "Maybe we should go inside where there's less noise and try it."

Garmadon stood up and nodded. "Good answer. That's what I was hoping you'd say."

Kai was surprised in the sudden lightness in his tone, but, regardless, he and the other ninja got up and headed inside the Bounty. They got their Blades from their room and decided which of them would go to which room to meditate.

* * *

Afterwards, Lloyd and Zoe arrived at the Bounty. "Glad you're back, Zoe," Nya told the pink kunoichi. "Now let's train together!"

She nodded. "Sure. But what are you guys doing?"

"Oh, we're just practicing our Spinjitzu," Brisa replied. "But you can work on yours by doing the training course. No worries."

While Zoe redid the training course a million times and Nya and Brisa kept practicing Spinjitzu, Lloyd could not see the ninja on the deck. "Where'd the ninja go?" he asked his dad, Garmadon.

"I told them to meditate to clear their minds," he answered immediately. "That way, they could ask their Blades about their past."

Lloyd smiled at his dad. "You helped them…that's good. But how do I unlock my ultimate potential?"

Misako creeped in, and both father and son saw her. "That is an answer only your mother and uncle have. I do not." Lloyd narrowed his eyes at him and looked to Misako.

"I'm not sure how useful it'll be, but I have thought about it for long and found out how you can unlock your ultimate potential," Misako told her son, who was finally listening to her. "It seems that when you need your ultimate potential the most, it will come to you. You will have an overwhelming desire, just like when you fought the Overlord."

"That's it? That's what uncle Wu told me too!"

"Oh, but there's more," Misako told him with a smile. "Another way."

Lloyd waved his hand as if to say "continue". "And? What's that?" he asked impatiently.

"Much like how the ninja had a mental obstacle, and the kunoichi now do as well, you and Zoe also have one…you just need to overcome it." That was the last bit Misako could help Lloyd out with. The rest was up to him.

Lloyd actually gave a half smile. "Thanks. That helps," he said in a non-sarcastic way. From his voice, Misako and Garmadon knew he was being genuine.

Wu came out shortly from his meditation break. "I see that the kunoichi are training. Good."

"Wu, do you remember how you said you'd ask Brisa later what the sudden change was in her?" Misako tried reminding Wu. "Maybe you should ask now."

"Ah, yes, I had forgotten. Thank you, Misako." He walked over to the silver kunoichi, who was still practicing Spinjitzu. "Brisa, can we go inside for a few minutes? I'd like to talk to you."

She looked at Nya, who was looking at Brisa. "Uh, sure," she turned around to face her sensei.

Wu nodded. "Follow me." He led the kunoichi to his room and sat down on the floor. Brisa also sat down. "So now. Misako just reminded me about asking you what the change was before and after lunch. So that is what I am asking. What made a big change in you between those two times?"

Brisa shifted around where she was sitting. "Um, a letter came from my parents. It said that when we were in Edgeham last, they were 'joking' about not being proud of me. In other words, they didn't really mean it, and they actually had a change in heart."

"That is very good, Brisa," he commended the silver kunoichi even though she wasn't the one who wrote it. "You are well on your way to getting to your true potential."

Brisa was amazed. "Really?! That was so fast!"

The old man nodded. "Indeed it was. So your parents now understand your decision, correct?"

"Yeah, they do. I'm glad they do."

"And so are we all," Wu informed her with a smile. "Now let's go back outside."

Brisa was confused as to why he brought her to his room. She expected the conversation to be a bit longer, but nope, it ended really fast.

Brisa and Wu went outside again, and Brisa decided to attempt Spinjitzu one last time…

* * *

 **Soooo I don't think I have anything to say here...I did but I forgot...oh well.**

 **Hope you liked it!**


	46. Jealousy

**I'm back with another chapter! Just got back on Saturday, and I wrote all of this in the past 2 days. Hopefully I can keep this up, but with how slow I'm going, this story is still going to be a while longer. My goal was to be done this story by the middle of summer, but that's long past and it probably won't be done till like later this year (lol). School starts next week, too.**

 **Hope you like it!**

* * *

Chapter 46: Jealousy

Brisa stepped outside and tried doing Spinjitzu once more with her willpower alone rather than using the motions of the training course. Before she knew it, she felt energy burst through her as she did Spinjitzu without any help from the training course…for the first time!

Everyone was impressed as they watched her do it using her own will. As the silver kunoichi stopped spinning, everyone began clapping for her.

"Great job, Brisa!" Garmadon commended her on her accomplishment.

"Yes, this made you even closer to getting to your full potential," Misako stated what was fairly obvious to everyone.

Wu simply nodded in happiness, content with the fact that Brisa got over another stepping stone. However, Nya was furious with herself now, while mere seconds ago she was impressed. "Why was she able to do Spinjitzu at will before I was? I did it long before her, and she does it in no time!"

Everyone was shocked at the cyan kunoichi's outburst. Normally, she would have congratulated her teammates for doing such a thing, but instead, she was angry at herself and at Brisa.

The silver kunoichi looked at the leader of the kunoichi with fear. "Sorry, Nya, but…it just happened…"

"Yes, maybe there was something that changed within her for her to do that," Garmadon tried reasoning with Nya. "And maybe that something has not yet happened to you."

Nya was glaring at Garmadon. "So you're calling me…weak? Slow at learning?"

"No, that is not what he meant!" Misako blurted out before things could get out of hand. "Brisa got a new burst of energy just now…the same needs to happen to you! It only happens after you realize and accept a flaw of yourself, or something like that I'm guessing."

Nya's face changed to sadness as she lowered her head and looked towards the floor. But then she raised her head and looked furious once again. Without a word, she stomped away and stormed inside the Bounty, likely going to her room to cool off.

"Wow, I had no idea she would've taken that so hard…" Reyna muttered once the kunoichi of water had left. Everyone nodded in agreement. Meanwhile, Wu assessed the situation they just had. Nya felt jealousy for Brisa's accomplishment, anger because she failed to do the same, and then she stormed off inside. He would definitely have to talk to her about it because that is what Sensei Wu thought her mental obstacle is. He decided he would go talk to her. He silently "spoke" with Garmadon and Misako about what he was going to do, and both of them nodded, agreeing with him.

He walked inside and headed towards the kunoichi's room. He found the door closed, so he knocked on it and spoke out. "Nya, are you in there?"

"Yes," came the reply from her.

"May I come in?" he asked politely. He didn't hear a reply this time, but he heard some shuffling until Nya opened the door for him. She now looked worried or sad more than angry or upset like she was outside on the deck.

Wu walked inside and sat on a bed while Nya sat on her bed across the room from him. "Nya, you don't have to be so angry at yourself. Misako was completely right: there was a reason why Brisa was able to do Spinjitzu at will."

"And what's that reason?" she asked in a way that made her sound like she was offended.

"Earlier today, a letter came from her parents. They explained that they were not actually angry at her. Now she feels more happy and open because of knowing that. Similarly, you need to realize something as well, so as to make yourself happier mentally."

"And that's what you came here to talk about, right?" she asked.

Wu nodded. "Yes. You should not feel jealousy, especially towards your teammates here. You are all working towards a common goal, and you should support them rather than being angry at them and in turn making yourself angry. Above all, you should not be afraid to fail; continue trying for whatever it is that you want."

"But it's not fair!" she protested, trying to defend her point. "She just learnt Spinjitzu and mastered it; I learnt it a while ago and still can't!"

"Nya, I understand how you feel, but you haven't yet surpassed that mental obstacle of yours," Wu tried convincing her that he was right (and he was).

"So now I have two obstacles? One for Spinjitzu and one for true potential?" the kunoichi asked with genuine curiosity.

He shook his head. "No, but perhaps you are just that close to being able to do both."

Nya's curious face turned into a face of delight. "That means I'll be unlocking my true potential soon! That's great!"

Wu smiled at the sudden change in the cyan kunoichi's mood. "I'm glad to see you smiling again." He turned around to head back outside, but he remembered that training should still continue. "See you outside. We will continue elemental training, but with the Blades now rather than Spinjitzu."

Nya nodded. "Okay, I'll come outside right now." She followed her sensei outside to the deck where it seemed that Garmadon and Misako had already instructed Reyna and Brisa to start training with their Blades. In fact, they were doing "elemental combos", which involved combining their attacks to create a more powerful one. Unfortunately, one could imagine that making a combo attack with nature and wind wasn't very easy.

"Oh, good! Nya, you're back!" Reyna exclaimed, relieved that she could sit down and watch them. Misako had told them to think outside the box and be creative to come up with a combo attack, but it was proving to be really hard for the two kunoichi. At least water and wind could go better together. "Plants and wind don't really go together…the best we could do is I use the plants and she uses wind to slap things…"

"Yes, and we don't have any ideas either," Misako admitted.

"But water and wind can go better," Garmadon said hopefully. "So Nya, why don't you come here and try making combo attacks with Brisa?"

She nodded. "Sure, I can try. I already have some ideas anyways." Nya walked over to the silver kunoichi. They discussed a bit with each other about what they were going to do. They came to an agreement that Nya would blast water and Brisa would try and bend it with air to make a tornado of water, or a hurricane, whichever happens first.

Nya lifted her Blade, Hydroslasher, up into the air and blasted out water. She had definitely gotten a lot better with her Blade, being able to do considerably more with it, such as blasting water and controlling existing water.

Brisa had also gotten a lot better. She waved her Blade, Skydancer, and a gust of wind was felt around the Bounty, but the wind was not able to control the water like they had hoped. They tried a few more times and got slightly closer each time. They could clearly see the water bending as they wanted it, however short it lasted. It made a small tornado of water for a few seconds, so they could be happy about that much.

Nya and Brisa continued working on a combined attack while Reyna practiced by herself, using the vines that her Blade let her use. Zoe had gone in to eat a snack and claimed she would be back soon, but she hadn't yet come back, and nobody really seemed to mind anyways.

Zoe did come back a few minutes later and continued to do the training course while her teammates were doing things that were more fun.

"Zoe, would you like to practice healing instead?" Sensei Wu asked the pink kunoichi. It would be a very useful ability for her to have rather than continuously doing the same thing over and over again.

"Uh, sure, I can try," she said nervously. Everyone was running out of ideas on how she could train to unlock her healing ability. It was really just a matter of her concentrating and focusing on something that could be healed, but it wasn't very often one of them would be hurt…

* * *

The ninja were in their separate places, meditating with their Blade in front of them. Lloyd was the only one left out, and he couldn't even play video games because Jay had decided to sit in that room. Cole was in the weightlifting room, the place he felt very at home, and Kai was in the ninja's room. Lloyd decided to take a risk and grab some comic books from his room and read them in the kitchen. Luckily, he was able to do so without the red ninja's questioning. He hadn't heard anything, but if he did, he didn't ask about why the green ninja was in the room disturbing him. Lloyd's guess was that Kai had to concentrate, so he didn't want to break it by talking with him, which was a fair point.

Cole was having a really easy time to focus and clear his mind due to his discipline. Jay on the other hand…not so much. His mind was very fidgety, and thoughts kept going through his head, ruining his concentration every so often. It was hard for him to sit still, and also hard for Kai as well because of his impatience with things like this. Regardless, both the red and blue ninja had to pull through and do it because it was absolutely necessary.

* * *

At the hospital, Zane was laying down, resting on the sofa in the room. A whole bunch of machines were around Astra, and the needle in her arm gave her the things she needed – medicines and fluids, mainly. He hadn't slept as much as he used to for the last while, and it was really getting to him now when he wanted to sleep but couldn't.

Thoughts flew around in his mind, often ending in worst-case scenarios. What if this was all useless and hopeless? What if Zoe couldn't heal her in time? What would happen to the team if that happened? Or worse, what would _he_ do if that happened?

He got up and gazed over to the yellow kunoichi, still in her kunoichi clothes, surprisingly. She hadn't been told to change into anything the nurses or doctors might've wanted her to. She was sleeping, and holding a steady rate for everything that was being monitored – heartbeat, oxygen level, temperature, blood pressure, and likely more. She looked so… _comfortable_ in Zane's eyes. It was almost as if she felt better here. But he knew that it was hard to look like that in her condition, and that it was all his imagination. She didn't like this.

The multiple doctors that had come to the room earlier had said that Astra was going get a whole bunch of different tests and medicines, all of which Zane had never known, so he couldn't even say no to any of them. He had done a lot of reading on the papers they had given him about the information about them, saying that they could do whatever they needed. Astra agreed with that statement.

But now, the nindroid could tell the time was coming closer. The worst part was that he could do nothing about it. It was all in the hands of other people like Zoe or the doctors and nurses, although at this point curing Astra with medical treatment was not going to happen anytime soon, so Zoe was the best hope.

One of the machines started beeping, but Zane didn't pay much attention to it. He had already heard it a dozen times in the short time they were there, so it didn't bother him anymore. However, surprisingly, a nurse burst into the room and looked at the machine. Zane was alerted by this and directed his attention to the machine. It was the heart rate machine.

"Her pulse…it's slowing down!" the nurse screamed in horror. People nearby heard the scream and came to check as to what happened. An alarm was sounded to let every nurse and doctor to know which room to go to. Zane was explained that the alarm only sounded when something serious was happening, and this was one of them.

"Could it be a side effect of something?" one person asked.

"No, nothing should've lowered heart rate!" another cried out in response.

Chaos ensued afterwards until someone was able to quiet them all down. There shouldn't be a ton of noise in a small room like this, and it wasn't like the doctors and nurses to make so much noise.

Zane ran outside the room and headed to the nearest telephone. He quickly called the phone on the Bounty. Somehow, Nya was in there, although she was training just a bit before that.

"Nya! It's about Astra! Tell everyone to come to the hospital, quickly!" he panted into the phone, scared of what may come.

Nya didn't even say anything. She nodded as if Zane could see her and hung up the phone to go gather everyone.

* * *

 **So Astra suddenly...gets worse than before? No idea what to say to that. The ninja are going to be broken out of their meditation, so they likely won't be happy about that. Now they're all going to head over to the hospital. And remember how one of the Five could sense death and destruction? What might happen with that? Hmmm...**

 **Thanks for reading!**


	47. Death's Door

**Yay, another fast chapter! :D Unfortunately, school starts on Wednesday, so it'll probably slow down with the time that'll take up from my day. If I started doing this earlier, I might've been done this story by now...sadly, I procrastinate too much, and now my other story will also be delayed because of that.**

 **Hope you like it!**

* * *

Chapter 47: Death's Door

Nya quickly and frantically started up the Bounty to fly over to the hospital. What they would do when they got there, they would decide when that time came. After that, she quickly gathered everyone on the Bounty into the bridge. They were in all sorts of places: the deck, their rooms, the kitchen. The ninja, however, were not happy to be disrupted from their meditation. They were close to getting the concentration, focus, and emptiness of their mind that they needed, but Nya had to come in and disturb them. It was for a good reason, though. But before she did that, she set the Bounty in motion to fly to the hospital.

Everyone rushed to the Bounty to hear what Nya had to say to them. "Everyone, I just got a call from Zane! He said that we should rush there immediately. Something's happening!"

"That explains why you started up the Bounty," Jay stated.

"But if Zane needs us there, then we'll have to go," Lloyd asserted. From the looks on everyone's face, nobody seemed to disagree.

"Uh, but what are we doing by flying there?" Reyna asked. "We can't land the Bounty…"

"We should decide that right now…" Cole muttered quietly. "Not there."

"I can drop all of you," Nya had one idea. "But then I'd have to bring the Bounty back here and come alone. That's kind of weird…"

"If you can still land the Bounty, do that, and then we will go there by foot," Sensei Wu gave his opinion. "That would be best."

"But this way, at least most of us can be there quickly," Misako countered. "Both ways are valid, but I think Nya would have to come back here to land the ship."

"And then she'd have to walk to the hospital by herself," Kai finished the plan off.

"Not necessarily alone…one of you could stay with her," Garmadon put in.

"Okay, Jay, stay with me. The rest of you will be dropped off." Nya was firm about her decision. Everyone else didn't really care.

"Sure, just get us there," Brisa told the cyan kunoichi.

"Yeah, it doesn't matter who stays back with you," Zoe said what might be the end of the conversation.

There was an awkward silence in the bridge until people decided to start leaving the room and going to do whatever they wanted. They had a few minutes to do that.

As expected, they reached the hospital shortly. Everyone minus Jay and Nya jumped off the Bounty and got onto the hospital roof. They were surprised to find two people waiting for them…again. Zane must've told them that they were coming on the roof, which was a really lucky guess considering nobody had told him that.

This time, there were no introductions. Everybody went straight inside the building while Jay and Nya flew the Bounty back to where it was. They would come on foot as Sensei Wu had suggested.

The remaining ninja, kunoichi, and sensei were all led to the room that Astra was staying in. The number of people had significantly decreased, keeping only the people that were needed and could help in the situation. Zane easily noticed them.

"I am glad that all of you could make it," he greeted them with a look of fear on his face. "Astra's heart rate suddenly dropped a lot, and so did her breathing and oxygen levels. It looks bad, according to the doctors, but they could help a bit."

"How long are they staying here for?" Zoe asked the white ninja.

He shrugged in return. "A while, I would imagine. Trying your healing powers would be a good idea afterwards."

The wait for the doctors and nurses to leave was a couple hours, at the very least. The room was getting hot and crowded, so the ninja and kunoichi decided that they would stand outside, and perhaps talk about the situation at hand and steps they could take later on once this ordeal was over with.

While the ninja and kunoichi were busy talking to each other about whatever, thoughts were running through Zoe's head. She was feeling stress on her. The time was soon going to come when she'd have to heal Astra. She didn't know if anyone else had the same feeling she was getting, but Astra didn't have many hours left.

Lloyd noticed the look of worry that was all over Zoe's face, so he stepped over to talk to her. "I know you're worried about healing." When the kunoichi nodded, he added to his sentence. "Don't worry, you'll be able to do it."

"How do you know?" she asked, gritting her teeth out of worry.

Lloyd didn't really have a response. "It…it'll happen. We have to think positively."

Meanwhile, the ninja were giving Reyna a summary of what had happened in the afternoon when they were training. "In case you didn't know, the best way to be curious without wanting anything from our Blades is to meditate to clear our minds," Cole gave her the quick version.

"Yeah, that's what Sensei Garmadon told us to do," Kai added.

"But what about Lloyd and Zoe?" Brisa asked the two ninja.

"Well, as for those two, apparently they have a mental obstacle too," the black ninja replied almost as if he knew that question was going to be asked.

"That actually helps a lot!" the teal kunoichi exclaimed. "Thanks a lot, guys!"

"You sound like you're going to go do it by yourself," the green ninja mused, jumping into the conversation.

"Don't I kind of have to meditate alone? So that I'm not disturbed?"

"What I meant is that you sounded like you were going to go meditate and they weren't…that's what I meant," Lloyd explained a bit more. "You know, when you ask somebody for the directions to some place? Like that."

The six ninja and kunoichi continued to talk until Jay and Nya arrived shortly. By the looks of their faces and the panting that they were doing, everyone could easily guess that the two had come running to the hospital.

"We looked…so…weird," Jay panted, out of breath. While the training he had done before was definitely harder and more tiring than this, he wasn't so used to a long distance sprint like the one he just did. In fact, Nya wasn't ready for that either.

Nya took a deep breath in to calm herself down. "Yeah, people looked at us like we were kids dressed in ninja clothes. It was embarrassing."

"That wouldn't be that hard to imagine, honestly," Cole admitted.

"After all, a lot of kids like to imitate us," Kai elaborated on the earth ninja's point.

"But it'd be weird if you saw someone like that running around outside!" Jay said in a really fast way, almost as if he blurted the entire sentence out.

Brisa rolled her eyes. "Whatever. Glad you guys could make it."

There was a pause in the conversation that followed. However, they burst into a conversation again. It lasted for a while.

It was about two hours later that people started leaving the room. Once two or three people had left, the ninja and kunoichi peeked inside the room to see how many of them were left. There were only a few more people that they didn't recognize, meaning that they were the doctors or nurses or people of some other closely related profession. Eventually, they left too, so the ninja and kunoichi took that moment to walk inside and close the door.

Astra was sleeping, so they didn't ask her directly. "How's she doing, and what happened?" Nya asked, not knowing what had happened due to not being there when Zane gave the breakdown.

"Her oxygen levels were low, her heart rate had dropped significantly, and her breathing was slow," Misako explained as quickly as Zane had. The ice ninja was sitting down on the sofa.

"Yes, but unfortunately, even after all that time, not much could be done," Garmadon gave the sad news.

"So now, it all comes down to you, Zoe," Sensei Wu's attention was directly on the pink kunoichi. "You must be the one to save her. I doubt that anyone else can at this point."

Zane remained silent, not saying a word. He didn't even look up at anyone who was talking. It must be very hard for him accept that Astra's life was depending on healing powers, something ordinary people would never be able to have. But luckily for him, Zoe was no longer an ordinary girl, so it was very possible for her to heal Astra.

All eyes were on Zoe and Astra, glancing back and forth between the two kunoichi. Nobody had mentioned that the people in the room before had said that she only had a few hours left before her breathing stopped completely. There were many other going on with her, but they were surprised the yellow kunoichi had been able to put up with it for so long and not complain. When Zane and the three sensei were asked if she had ever complained about any physical pains, they all said no, which surprised the doctors and nurses because the pain could've been extreme. To live through that…it would definitely take a lot of strength.

"I have to try regardless," Zoe said at last. "I'm not leaving her like that."

Wu nodded in good spirits, happy that Zoe said that. Even then, he hadn't expected her to say anything else anyways. "We will give you some more pointers and advice, if you think you need it."

Zoe looked towards him. "I need all the advice I can get."

"As I said a while ago, Zoe, you need to imagine Astra being happy, for one thing," Garmadon repeated what he had said what seemed like forever ago.

"And when you're under pressure, you tend to do what you have to do," Misako told her as if she needed a reminder on that. Lots of kids delay things, and then do it under pressure and finish it fast. Zoe also did this when she went to school, so she knew about it.

"And finally, you have to believe in yourself that you can do it," Wu gave the last thing that they could possible say. There wasn't much else to it.

Zane finally looked up at somebody, and it was aimed directly at the pink kunoichi. "I knew it was far too late to come here at this point…but I had to do this. And then everything went downhill just a couple of hours ago. The doctors said she would only have a few more hours left. Now, Zoe," he looked at the kunoichi with sadness in his eyes. "It is all up to you. I wish I could do something more, but unfortunately, I cannot. Good luck, Zoe, and I hope you are able to heal her."

The room became silent once again. Nobody moved or talked. At last, Kai spoke up. "I don't really think all of us need to be in this room…it'll get hot soon, so I think I'll wait outside again. Good luck, Zoe. And Zane," the red ninja faced the nindroid. "If you need us, we'll be outside." The white ninja nodded in acknowledgement.

All of the ninja and kunoichi besides Zane, Astra, and Zoe left the room and waited outside. There was silence, despair, and gloom amongst them as well.

At this point, Nya had to say something. "Guys, I know this isn't the right time to bring up something like this since it's so…sad, but…remember how one of the Five was able to sense destruction in Brisa's hometown? He said something like the destruction of a family or something weird like that…what if he senses death now and comes here?"

Everybody was alarmed, but Jay laughed it off. "Do you really think they would come here to fight us? It's probably really far for them."

"I think that would actually be a risk they'd take," Reyna gave her input. "But what do you want us to do with that, Nya?"

"Well, we'd have to prepare in case that does happen," she explained. "And maybe…if they retreat, we could follow them to where they are!"

"That's a dangerous idea," Lloyd spoke ominously. "Considering this is a big city, they might even destroy things on purpose."

"Following them would be hard…how would we even do that?" Cole asked the cyan kunoichi.

Nya suddenly felt like it was a bad idea to bring it up at a time like this. Everybody was against it…and even if they weren't, they were asking questions that made it seem as such. But what was to be expected; Nya would have to have a better plan than that and think in through more carefully. "I could fly the Bounty and track them…if I can't see them, maybe some of you could help. But I have a feeling they'll be here soon, so we should be ready for them."

"That's a much more complete idea," Brisa told her happily. "I was having doubts like the rest of them, but I think that might actually work."

"But one last thing," Kai said and everyone turned to him. "What good will knowing where they are do for us?"

"Maybe we could ambush them later on, if we find out, of course," the teal kunoichi gave an idea.

"It makes it easier to find out where our final battle would take place," the green ninja said, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. He made it sound like it was so obvious.

Nya snapped her fingers towards Lloyd. "Bingo! That's what it'd definitely help us with."

Everyone immediately agreed that they should follow the Five back to where they came from, should they come to Ninjago City. They set out a plan.

"If they come here, I'll fly the Bounty to follow them," the kunoichi of water began preparing a plan. "But first, I'll maybe-"

Jay raised his hands up in such a way as to tell Nya to stop talking. "No, I'll fly the ship. You have a chance at unlocking your true potential…you shouldn't let it go to waste. Stay on the ground with the rest of them, and I'll fly the Bounty and follow them from there."

Nya was amazed at the blue ninja's consideration that it would be a great time for her to unlock her true potential. To show her appreciation, she gave him a quick kiss in front of everyone, which left Jay embarrassed and everyone else uncomfortable.

* * *

 **Nya did think that the Five would make an appearance and now they're getting prepared for it. Meanwhile, Zoe faces a big challenge and it may or may not relieve all the stress and burden she feels from it. I think that's all I have to say. Thanks for reading!**


	48. Healing

**Back with another chapter! I had places to go this past week, so I didn't get much time to write. Fortunately, I was able to write A LOT today and finished the chapter.**

 **Anyways, the title is garbage but I had no clue what to name this. Hope you like it!**

* * *

Chapter 48: Healing

"So, uh, anything else?" the black ninja asked weirdly. He didn't really want to see that, but it couldn't be avoided.

"Let's just recap what we're going to do," Reyna suggested in a tone that meant they were going to do that. Nobody had any problems with recapping anyways. "Jay will fly the Bounty to follow them. The rest of us will force the Five back to their place on land so we know where to find them. Is that right?"

"If they start causing problems, that plan will go to waste, because then we'll have to help the city rather than ourselves," Kai said disappointedly.

"And they're not stupid, so they might even expect that we'll follow them," Brisa put in to discourage the plan even more.

"Why do you all have to have such negative thoughts?" Jay was getting annoyed by their pessimism. "If that happens, we'll deal with it then!"

"We need to be prepared for what might happen, Jay," the red ninja shot him down. "We're not trying to be negative, but we can't take risks and last minute plans in a big city like this."

"In fact, we shouldn't do that anywhere," the green ninja added in case it might've offended Brisa. After all, parts of her town were ruined, and he didn't want Brisa to think that only big cities should be protected as best as possible.

"Yeah, we should've expected it to happen back in Edgeham, but we didn't, so we weren't prepared," the black ninja reminded them of what had happened the last time.

Jay shrugged like it didn't matter. "I guess you're right. We should be prepared this time."

"If they start destroying things, we can't follow them," Nya said firmly. "We need to help the city first. Plain and simple."

Everyone nodded in agreement. However, Kai wasn't convinced so easily. "At least a couple of us should go and follow them…at least Jay when he's on the Bounty! We need to know this stuff!"

"He has a point," the teal kunoichi considered his idea. "We have to know where they stay."

"Then I guess I'll do my best to track and follow them…the rest of you push them back so that they do that or help with any trouble they might cause," Jay agreed with Kai. He tried to sound cool about it, but everyone knew it would be a big job to follow any of the Five in a place like Ninjago City, where tall buildings are everywhere. It would be really easy to hide behind any of them and avoid the Bounty, especially since the ship would have to stay at a safe distance away from them.

* * *

Inside the room, there was complete silence aside from the noise the machines made. Zoe was looking at the yellow kunoichi. Surprisingly, she looked very peaceful, as if there was nothing bothering her. Zoe almost wanted to think that she was dead, but she knew Astra wouldn't give up like that, not after all the months that she's already went through it for.

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She had to concentrate, and the noise level right now was good enough for her to deeply focus on the task she would have to complete…successfully. She couldn't fail here.

After what seemed like forever, she was in "the zone". She didn't hear of anything from outside of her, and she was deeply concentrating. Hopefully, nobody would come to disturb her in this state, else she would be mad.

She imagined Astra, sleeping exactly the way she was, but with her eyes open and looking happy, like she just woke up in the morning and was somehow happy to hear she'd have to train. Even in a place like the hospital, nearing her time alive in this world, Zoe was still able to picture her happy like she would have been if she was an ordinary girl.

After she had completed that step, the tried focusing all the power she could muster into her hands so that she could heal the yellow kunoichi. However, she wasn't feeling that power flowing to her hands. She got a little annoyed and mad. It worked before, and she was able to heal minor things before while she was still training, so why couldn't it happen at a time like this where she really needed it to? Even if it was only a little like before, Zoe would at least be able to heal something, and she could try multiple times as needed.

But now, Zoe was feeling the pressure. She remembered that pressure was the best motivator. Maybe it still needed more time so that the pressure really got to her, and she'd have no choice but to unlock those healing powers she desperately wanted.

Suddenly, Zoe heard a voice, and the sound broke her out of her concentration. She opened her eyes and saw that Astra had opened hers. "Zoe," she whispered, not looking at the pink kunoichi. "Are you trying to do your healing?"

Zoe nodded, tears coming to her eyes. Astra looked bad, and Zoe, the only person that could do anything about it, wasn't able to do anything. "Don't worry, I'll manage to do it," she whispered back. "You'll be fine."

Hearing Astra's voice, Zane got up and walked over to her. "Astra…hang in there," he said with a voice that sounded like he was trying to not cry. "You can't leave me, and I'm not leaving you!"

She smiled as best as she could. "Our time together was short…most of it spent with me sleeping in bed and you watching over me. I just wanted to say: thank you."

Now the tears started rolling down, but they weren't water and salt, the tears of a human. Rather, they were tears of colourless oil, which somehow was the type of oil that now powered him from the inside. Suddenly, Zane went from emotional to fierce and determined. "You are not leaving me now. I cannot allow it."

"But how are you going to make sure of that?" Astra questioned in a way that made everyone think she didn't want to be alive. "At this point, that's in Zoe's hands."

"I know that, but I have faith that Zoe will be able to unlock her healing powers," he replied confidently.

"I do too, Zane," she whispered as she closed her eyes once again. "I do too…" She seemed to have fallen asleep instantly, and the machines around her started beeping again. It sent chills down everyone's bodies, knowing that this was likely the end.

Zane looked scared now, and the tears of oil came rolling down his face. "Astra! No! You are not leaving us! We need your help!" As Zane cried over the yellow kunoichi, Zoe, Wu, Garmadon, and Misako all looked on in solitude. The latter three were unable to do much of anything like the white ninja, and only Zoe was capable of not allowing their journey to be destroyed.

"Zoe, if we lose Astra, we will not be capable of stopping the Five," Sensei Wu told her gravely as if she needed a reminder about that.

"Even if one person is missing, you, the ninja and kunoichi, will not have enough power to defeat them," Misako added.

"And that is why you absolutely must be able to heal Astra, as well as anything else," Garmadon finished off their little recap to the pink kunoichi.

Zoe nodded and turned around to look at Astra again. As the numbers on the machines got lower, Zoe continued to assume that Astra's final moments were upon them…unless she could do something about it.

Zane looked up at her. "Zoe, I believe we all know that the time is approaching us very quickly. Please, do anything you need to! We will remain absolutely silent if that is what you need. But please, heal her…for me, and for the sake of the world…" Zane drifted off and sat down on the sofa again. He looked incredibly sad and depressed, and Zoe swallowed her fear of not being of help.

She began deeply concentrating again by closing her eyes and emptying everything around her from her mind. She couldn't have anything disturbing her, not at this crucial moment. This time, the pressure she was under made her concentrate a lot faster and she was in "the zone" for the second time that hour.

The kunoichi of life imagined Astra happy once more. The difference from the last time, however, was that she imagined the things she and the other kunoichi _could've_ been doing with Astra had she been completely healthy like the rest of them. They could train together, talk to each other at night before they slept, face their foes together, eat meals together…all throughout that, Zoe had to picture Astra as a happy girl. It was hard because she hadn't seen Astra truly happy…ever! Zoe had joined the ninja and kunoichi a long while after Astra had joined. She assumed that Astra trained as normal in the beginning, and then only later did she stop. Regardless, Zoe was still imagining all the things they could do together, but with a smile on Astra's face instead.

The second step was to focus any and all of her power into her hands, her method of healing. This time, she tried another different technique. She imagined her power as aura flowing through her body…she would have to control that aura and send it to her hands. She tried doing just that, and it was working. She led the power to her hands, and she could actually feel it there! That meant that the pink kunoichi was so far succeeding. Soon, Zoe felt all her elemental power stored in her hands, ready to be used.

The final step was the hardest step. Zoe would have to make use of this power to do healing. Luckily for her, she had some practice and had healed minor things such as cuts and bruises, but those things are nowhere near as bad as a disease.

Zoe didn't really know what to do at this point, so she went with a gut feeling. She put one hand on Astra's forehead, and another on the hand closest to her. Those were just the starting points for what she would do after. Almost immediately, Zoe could definitely feel something in her hands, almost like she was taking the disease out and holding it in her hands.

Zane, Wu, Misako, and Garmadon all watched in amazement that Zoe was finally able to fully heal someone or something. There was a green-yellow glow coming from her hands, and everyone knew that was definitely the power of healing.

Zoe then moved to different spots over Astra's body. She simply moved her hands to constantly, hovering right above the yellow kunoichi. Slowly, the numbers that nobody understood on the machines began to rise, and everyone took that as a good sign.

* * *

Outside the room, the ninja and kunoichi hear silence. Everyone could only assume that Zoe was trying her best, so nobody dared open the door and ruin the concentration to check and see what was happening. Just minutes before, they could hear Zane crying and begging Astra to not give in…they could only assume the final moments were near.

They were suddenly knocked out of their thoughts and predictions by people rushing around out of rooms and down the hall.

"What happened?!" Reyna asked someone who was trying to run down the hall like he was trying to escape something.

"There's some…shady looking people outside, deemed dangerous! They attacked people and places!" he cried out of fear and ran away before he could be questioned further.

The ninja and kunoichi looked at each other. It was definitely them. All they could do was hope that the chaos did not break Zoe's concentration, while the ninja and kunoichi standing outside prepared to put their plan into action. They all ran towards the elevator and found both of them were full and carrying other people.

They had to take the stairs down the hospital. They were on the sixth floor, so one could imagine there would be a lot of stairs. But the ninja and kunoichi had no option. They ran down the stairs and reached the main floor in record time, only to find that many people were running towards the _back_ of the hospital now to avoid contact with the "shady looking people."

All of the ninja and kunoichi ran towards the main entrance and went outside. There, they were unsurprised to find the Five, waiting for them to show up.

"If it isn't the beloved ninja and kunoichi, the heroes of Ninjago," Tylor sneered at them.

"What a fine reunion we'll have here," Palmer told them in a way that almost made everyone want to believe him. He had become…weirder since the last time they met. He was holding a flower and smelling it while everybody stared at him strangely. "What's the matter? It's not very often that I get to smell a flower," he said menacingly. With the blink of an eye, he zapped the flower with his dark lightning and burnt it. The ashes fell from his hand. So he hadn't really changed…

"Why'd you have to come here?" Cole demanded of them.

"As was explained last time, Lucas can sense the death or destruction of anything," Allen began explaining.

"This scent of death was particularly strong, so we tracked it, and found you kids," Jarle finished off the reasoning.

"Now, let's play a little game," Lucas told them. He was still wearing his signature hood that covered his face. "A game to see who will survive!"

Angered, the ninja and kunoichi brought out their Blades. They had taken the caution to bring it in case something like this might happen.

* * *

 **As expected, the Five do show up, and they're ready to cause some mayhem. Hmmmm, will the ninja and kunoichi be any match for them? But now with Astra being healed, everyone will be able to focus on their true/ultimate potentials (for the most part). There's nothing stopping them from doing so...except this threat in front of them. Hope you liked it!**


	49. Reborn

**Sorry that this took a while. School started on Wednesday and I had to go places almost every day after school, leaving me little time to write this. But, it's done now! I was surprised that I wrote a chapter with so little dialogue and conversation. But most of it is just fighting, so it's to be expected.**

 **Hope you like it!**

* * *

Chapter 49: Reborn

The ninja and kunoichi brought out their Blades. Even Jay, who was supposed to leave very soon, but nobody could really bank on if he would actually leave when his friends might be in trouble later on.

However, the blue ninja was determined to stick to the proposed plan unless things really go off what they expected in the hospital. For now, he would fight a little and then make his way to the Bounty and hope that his teammates would push the Five back.

Quickly, Palmer jumped right in front of him and Nya, smiling at the couple menacingly. He wasted no time talking and went straight on the offensive by using the other power, the one that neither Jay or Nya were meant to handle. In Jay's case, he was attacked by dark water, and Nya was attacked by dark lightning. Both of them managed to dodge the attack, although they knew Palmer could definitely ramp things up way beyond that. However, they could also do the same.

Not even the least bit impressed by their dodge, Palmer leaped towards Jay at an incredible speed and slammed his body really hard. The lightning ninja went flying backwards, but he was able to regain his balance in the air and landed safely on his feet. To that, Palmer gave a face that made him look impressed.

Out of sheer anger, Nya swung her Blade at Palmer, but he easily dodged it and grabbed a hold of her Blade. The cyan kunoichi kept swinging her Blade around, hoping he would let go of it, but his grip remained firm. That was until he noticed Jay coming towards him with a flying kick, so he reacted by jumping back and dodging it.

Quickly, Jay took this opportunity to mentally say to Nya that he'd be going to the Bounty. Nya nodded in understanding and the blue ninja took off. However, Palmer wasn't done yet and knew where he was going, so he shot some dark lightning at Jay's back leg mid-stride. The blue ninja fell to the ground on his knees, followed by the rest of his body. He went in for another attack, but Nya had to defend him and blocked him with her Blade, Hydroslasher. She managed to snag in a weak attack by slapping him on his forehead with her Blade, which didn't seem to do much to Palmer.

* * *

Meanwhile, Cole and Reyna were up against Tylor once again. He had proven them again and again that he had the stamina, endurance, and power to outlast them and win in a fight. Even if they knew this, the two weren't about to give up that easily.

Reyna got reckless and attacked with her Blade, Vinewhipper. Tylor grinned in amusement. When it came to head on attacks, nobody stood a chance against him. He also made a reckless move that could've cost him a lot if he had misjudged where Reyna's Blade would be. He stopped her attack in the air by catching her and then tossing her to the side. Not having the same amount of training as Jay, she was not fortunate enough to land on her feet and instead fell on her back.

Cole was mad, but he couldn't make a move like what Reyna did. He had to be wary of his dark earth, although on the paved roads, he wasn't so sure if Tylor could use it. Instead, Cole opted for a long distance attack from his Blade. He blasted out rocks of all sorts from his Blade, Quakesmasher. He still hadn't used it for what its name was suggesting: causing earthquakes, or smashing them, if that made any sense.

Tylor used his dark earth powers and brought up a wall of pavement to block all the roads, surprising Cole that Tylor could use his powers even here. He then used the wall as an offensive weapon by smashing through it and sending rocks everywhere. This surprised the black ninja even more as he tried his best to dodge the attacks. A few of them brushed off of him, but he remained relatively unharmed.

Reyna got back up and leaped at Tylor. This time, she was more tactical and predicted where Tylor would move. Knowing where he was about to go to dodge her attack, she positioned herself in that direction and kicked off of him and landed on her feet. Then she charged at him.

"NINJA GO!" she shouted and burst into her dark green tornado of Spinjitzu. Tylor grinned and stopped her cold with his dark earth, creating a barrier around her. But Cole was ready for him to do something like that, so he used his Blade and smashed it open. Tylor also looked impressed at Cole's technique.

* * *

Jarle and Allen teamed up against Kai and Brisa, so the ninja and kunoichi had a really tough time dealing with them 1 on 1. Brisa was the least experienced of the kunoichi there, and Kai wouldn't be able to help her when he had his hands full with Allen.

Allen, who seemed to be one to make a rational decision for an attack, made a reckless attack instead. He dove straight towards Kai's Blade, Flameleaper, while the red ninja got ready to strike. At the last second, Allen blasted wind to his side and moved out of the way of the Blade. Using the slight bit of time that Allen had between Kai bringing his Blade back, he gave a spinning kick from the air that landed on Kai's right arm, the arm he likes using his Blade with.

The powerful kick was more than enough to knock the fire ninja down. Brisa screamed until she realized Jarle was coming at her with a strong punch. She ducked and dodged it and kicked him on his shin. The big man winced in pain, but that only got him angry.

He disappeared from in front of her as the silver kunoichi had no idea where Jarle had went. She then knew where he was after she got punched in the back and fell forward. He then tried using dark ice to trap her at her feet. Quickly, she moved her legs out of the way and dodged it. She bounced back up and burst into Spinjitzu.

"NINJA GO!" she yelled and a bright silver tornado came up. Being slower than all of the other Five, he couldn't really dodge it or block it in time and got caught up and spat out.

Kai had gotten back up and took the opportunity to help Brisa. He jumped and kicked Jarle in the ribs, making the One roll away in pain. Allen, however, was not happy about Kai getting away from him. He blasted dark wind at the red ninja, but Brisa, seeing it, countered with her own wind from her Blade, Skydancer. They absolutely could _not_ get hit by dark wind. It could slice them if it was powerful enough.

Allen and Jarle used a team attack. It was supposed to be really quick and sneaky attack. Allen jumped up and glided down on Kai and Brisa, getting ready for a kick. Jarle used his dark light, or shadow, to seemingly disappear in front of them.

Not knowing where Jarle would be, Brisa decided to try something different to counter it. She swung her Blade and released a blast of wind all around them. The wind immediately revealed Jarle's location, who was approaching her from the side.

Surprised that Jarle's attack was revealed, Allen lost his balance in the air and had to use his dark wind to push him out of the path of Kai's fireball. He landed on his feet and sent a stream of dark fire towards them. They dodged it, but a pole behind them was hit by it and completely incinerated with nothing left.

* * *

The fight continued with Lloyd facing off vs Lucas. Lucas had never made a single move to go on the offensive yet. He either dodged all of Lloyd's attacks or got hit by them. The green ninja couldn't tell if he purposely got hit, or if he truly wasn't able to dodge them. He had to assume the former because there was no way he wouldn't be able to dodge such attacks.

Still, it bothered Lloyd that Lucas had never tried to attack. It was a good thing, but it was also bad because Lloyd wouldn't know what his powers were like. At the same time, maybe he didn't want to see what the attacks were like…clearly, Lloyd was confused and didn't know what to think.

Lloyd used another beam of energy while Lucas stood right in the path of it. He didn't make a move to even dodge it and got hit directly by it and was blasted back. Lucas hadn't expected the beam to be powerful enough to knock him back. He figured that Lloyd might slightly be worth his time and decided to now start attacking.

Lucas prepared an attack and sent a black beam of energy at the green ninja. Lloyd dodged it, but instead a building behind him was left with a hole at its side. Just from that one attack, Lloyd knew that it was going to be extremely difficult to play around the attacks in a place like Ninjago City. Buildings could easily be destroyed, and a wide open and empty place was what he needed. Lloyd's only choice here was to try and counter every beam rather than dodging it.

Lucas sent another one at him, and Lloyd had little time to react with his own beam of energy. The green ninja's golden energy was easily overpowered at the short notice and Lloyd had to jump out of the way. The road that was beneath him a second ago was destroyed.

He couldn't take the risk of physical combat either. He didn't know what could happen in close range, but he figured he'd have to try. If he sensed anything wrong, he would immediately run back.

Lloyd charged in and launched into Spinjitzu. "NINJA GO!" he shouted like everyone else had done before. His green tornado came up, but Lucas was not afraid and punched the tornado. Lloyd was knocked down to the ground from the punch.

Lucas calmly walked over and loomed over the fallen ninja with a very straight face. He showed no emotion. He punched down immediately, but Lloyd, expecting that, rolled out of the way and kicked the One away while also getting back up at the same time.

Since Lloyd had the upper hand at that moment, he went in to deliver a flurry of attacks. Lucas struggled to block most of them, but it didn't really matter to him anyways.

* * *

In the hospital, things were still quite chaotic. However, Zoe kept her concentration and continued to use her newly unlocked healing powers on Astra. She could definitely feel that Astra was being healed, and in turn, the yellow kunoichi also felt better. It was almost as if her pain was just lessening on its own.

Astra opened her eyes and saw Zoe standing over her with her eyes closed in deep concentration. Zoe's body obstructed the view of the three sensei, so they didn't know she was awake, and Zane couldn't see her eyes because he was sitting too far away and too low from that height.

She smiled happily. Maybe she would get to be of help to the ninja and kunoichi after all. Happy and exciting thoughts ran through her mind knowing that she would be fine in just a few moments…or so she hoped. She'd finally be able to spend some quality time with Zane, and help the team defeat the Five, and unlock her true and ultimate potentials…there were a lot of possibilities now.

After what seemed like forever, Zoe had come to the conclusion that she was done. She opened her eyes to see the light kunoichi smiling at her. The pink kunoichi returned the smile. "Glad to see you're awake, Astra," she told her genuinely.

However, Astra's eyes began to tear as she started crying in happiness. She shot up in her bed and hugged Zoe, feeling surprised that she felt like a normal person. "I'm so happy that the 'life' part of your powers are true. Thanks so much," she whispered to Zoe.

Zoe was actually stunned at the reaction, although she should've expected it. She hugged Astra back. "No problem, Astra. I was supposed to do this all along."

Zane walked over to the two of them. Zoe stepped back, knowing they'd probably want a moment. In fact, Misako and Garmadon signalled that they should step outside, and they did.

Once the room was empty, Zane and Astra looked each other in the eyes.

"Zane," Astra began, her throat feeling sore. "Thank you sooooo much for taking care of me all these weeks. I-I don't know what I would've been without that help."

"I was only doing it for you, Astra," he replied with a teary smile.

The two had a moment of silence before anything else happened. They knew that it was time for two things: they had a gut feeling that they would have to help their brothers and sisters, all of which had disappeared from the hospital to fight the Five. The second thing was to lean in and give each other a kiss. With no one around, they didn't have to hide that. And they didn't.

"Zane, your nature to care for anyone that's important to you and a whole lot of other things about your personality, like saying something funny without realizing it, is what I love about you," Astra confessed her feelings. "I guess that…I love you," she murmured the last part timidly, as if she didn't want to hear it. She even turned away!

"You are still shy, I see," Zane observed with a smile. "Nothing wrong with that. Your physical and mental strength are things that should be admired, and I am sure you'll make our adventure livelier now that you can do what you want to do. I also love you…a while back, actually."

The two smiled at each and gave each other another kiss. Now, Jay would call them "an official couple".

Astra hopped right out of the bed. She felt…reborn. All the energy that now rushed through her like she was a different person. They walked outside the door and saw Zoe and the three sensei down the hall, talking to someone.

* * *

 **HURRAY! ASTRA'S FINALLY HEALED FULLY! Now that that's done, they'll be joining the fight, surprising the others. It's going to be fun, because lots of powers will be unlocked here! :D**

 **On a less happy note, chapters will likely be coming at a slower pace than usual because of school. Still, I'll try my best. Hope you liked it!**


	50. The Fight Must Go On

**Hurray, another chapter! Haven't been getting much homework surprsingly, so I had a good amount of time to write this today. Anyways, don't have anything else to say. Hope you like it!**

* * *

Chapter 50: The Fight Must Go On

They walked up and the person just left as they got there. "What happened?" Zane asked them casually as if nothing extraordinary had happened.

Wu smiled at them, pleased that Astra had gotten out of the bed immediately. However, there was no time to talk about such things. "The Five are attacking outside the hospital. The ninja and kunoichi are trying their best to hold them back."

"They need our help!" Zoe barged in to tell Zane and Astra.

"If our brothers and sisters need our help, we'll give it to them," Zane replied surely. Astra nodded in agreement.

"Then please do," Misako practically begged them. "Zoe, Lloyd needs your help the most! Please go outside and help him!"

"And I'm sure anyone who is fighting your opponent will be tired," Garmadon told the new couple. That reminded them that somebody would have to face Jarle by themselves…Zane and Astra would have to relieve them from that duty.

"We'll go right now," Astra declared confidently.

Wu smiled again. _Her confidence and self-esteem have spiked in just a few minutes' time. That is good._

The ninja and two kunoichi rushed to the stairs that would take them to the bottom floor. The elevator was still in heavy demand for people wanting to leave the floor that haven't done so yet.

* * *

Outside, the fight was still continuing. Nya had managed to cover for Jay and give him enough time to run back to the Bounty, as much as he didn't want to leave her and his other friends to fight the Five. However, the constant attacks from Palmer and Nya's constant blocking and dodging was wearing the cyan kunoichi out. Palmer, on the other hand, hardly seemed to have broken a sweat.

Jarle and Allen had made a team plan that they would attack Kai and Brisa in such a way that Jarle would be able to freeze them with dark ice, and then they wouldn't have to worry about those two. Allen would corner them or push them back with some harmless dark wind. It was a gamble, and it all depended on whether the red ninja and silver kunoichi were smart enough to figure the trick out or not.

Jarle used his shadow powers to disappear. Allen knew exactly where he was going, but their enemies did not. Allen launched into action by sending a blast of dark wind towards them. As hoped, the two of them jumped out of the way, not knowing whether it'd be powerful enough to kill them, so they couldn't take the risk. Allen grinned, because that was exactly what he wanted them to do. The unfortunate part was that they dodged in different directions, which he hadn't taken into account that they would do. Regardless, he was hoping Jarle would be able to freeze them at that right moment.

Fortunately for Allen, Jarle stuck to the plan and reappeared. He shot out dark ice at Kai first. Just before it would hit the fire ninja, some regular ice came out of nowhere and countered it. It was Zane, using his Blade, Frostbiter. The fighting stopped and turned to look at the newcomers to the fight: Zane, Zoe, and Astra.

"Jarle…we will be your opponents now!" Zane declared with confidence. Astra nodded next to him.

Jarle didn't give a reaction that made him seem at all scared. In fact, he laughed. "I don't really care who my opponents are. Just come over here!"

* * *

Meanwhile, Zoe noticed Lloyd struggling against Lucas, and the ninja hadn't even turned around to acknowledge her presence. It must've been intense, so she immediately ran over to help him. "Lloyd! I'm here!"

He turned over to look at her and flashed a smile. He looked behind and saw Zane and Astra approaching Jarle. "So you managed to heal Astra, huh?" She nodded and was cut off by Lucas before she could say anything.

"Now isn't the time to talk! Your lives are at stake, so if you want to continue talking, go ahead," he warned them threateningly. He got ready in a stance that would let him easily attack them.

Lloyd and Zoe cut the talking and also got ready for a fight. A true fight, now that Zoe was here. It seemed that Lucas knew Zoe was going to come sooner or later anyways, so he didn't bother wasting his energy earlier. Unfortunately for Lloyd, he had used up quite a bit of his own energy with all the attacks he used earlier.

Lloyd and Zoe made the first move by going in for a quick attack on Lucas, but he raised his hands, and seeing some dark energy swirling in his hands, they split and went to opposite sides.

The move wouldn't help them much because he could very well still blast beams of dark energy at them, and if they dodged, anyone else in the way would be at risk of being severely hurt or even killed.

To distract Lucas, Lloyd used a beam of energy to hit him, but he dodged it by jumping. He had planned ahead and realized Zoe would be unable to attack him if he was in the air. Even if she could, he could always scare her with a potential dark beam. The two would have to think of a good plan to push Lucas back…

* * *

Zane and Astra were there to take Jarle away from Kai and Brisa, who had become really tired fighting the Two, while the white ninja and yellow kunoichi were perfectly fine to fight.

Jarle went in for a fast punch, or as fast as he could be, but was easily blocked by Zane. Then Astra tried delivering a punch to Jarle, but he stepped back. Astra then brought out her Blade, Rayseeker, who she hadn't held in so many days and weeks. She managed to charge up and use a beam of light using Rayseeker, but being so unprepared and inexperienced with the Blade, it wouldn't be of much help like that.

 _You should work on your aim against him,_ Rayseeker suggested to the yellow kunoichi. _He's not very fast, so it shouldn't be too hard._

 _I'll try my best,_ Astra responded with few words. She charged up another one while Zane tried to buy time. The nindroid was fighting in close range, which was very risky considering the strength of their enemy. Both Zane and Jarle got knocked around by each other's attacks until Astra released her beam of light and got a direct hit on Jarle. The big man was sent flying to the sidewalk across the street.

However, the attack didn't seem to do much to him as he got up quickly. "That was some good aim, but your focus on the aim lead to a lack of power." Surprisingly, he gave some words of advice to Astra!

 _He's right. I had no idea he would try helping you,_ Rayseeker was amazed. _But now you know what was off about that attack._

Immediately, she was getting ready for another attack: another beam of light. However, Jarle disappeared the same moment.

 _Quick, use me as a light source!_ Rayseeker commanded Astra. Astra did as she was told, which was ironic because Astra should've been the one to give the commands. _You need to know what I can do. I will give you a breakdown of my abilities later._ Light shone from the Blade of Light, and Astra, getting creative, spun around in a circle to find out where Jarle went. If she shone her Blade in all 360 degrees, there was no way Jarle could escape unless he was in the air, which the kunoichi didn't think he'd think of anyways. Her hope was that Zane would see him in the split second that Jarle was visible for.

The light did indeed reveal Jarle's location, and Zane immediately ran there and threw a punch at his head. Jarle blocked it with his arm and didn't move an inch. Instead, he gave a devastating blow to Zane's stomach. It could've been powerful enough to break an inner circuit, but Astra couldn't worry about that at that moment.

Hoping the white ninja was okay, she'd have no choice but to fight close range, an expertise for Jarle. First, he sent dark ice her way, but she sidestepped and dodged it. After that, he kept on coming with the dark ice as he approached closer and closer with every attack. It was hard for her to dodge every attack and she ended up jumping up the stairs to the hospital's entrance to avoid them.

She came back with an attack from above. She knew it was reckless, but she had to try. She was trying to stab him from above, but seeing such an attack made Jarle snort. He also jumped and pushed her away in mid-air. He landed on his feet, but Astra fell on her stomach. But now it was visible that his mood had changed.

He stomped angrily towards her and was about to punch her in a way that looked like a karate chop, but Zane came charging in to protect her last second. He put his Blade up to block the attack, but being off balance, the force of Jarle's fist knocked him down on his back. As he snorted again, he lobbed Zane out of the way like the nindroid was a soccer ball.

Astra got up and tried to strike with her Blade, but he punched her on her opposite shoulder before she got close enough. The punch made her off balance, and another punch to the face was enough to knock her down again.

* * *

Having Zane and Astra to occupy Jarle, Kai and Brisa could now direct their full attention to Allen, who seemed to be in a good condition while Kai and Brisa were very tired.

Allen restarted the fight by coming with a really fast attack. Being tired and not having the reaction time to dodge or block, the two were hit back. Both were still on their feet, which was good, but they didn't know how much longer they could keep up with him.

Allen went in for another attack, but by being prepared by the first one, Kai was able to dodge it, and Brisa was just barely able to block it. She managed to land a good kick on his leg while he was still there, and the red ninja, off to the side, tackled Allen down.

He began hitting the One, but Allen pushed him off and burned Kai with his dark fire. He didn't have enough to make a powerful attack using dark fire, but it did the trick to scare Kai away, who was now burned by it.

Angered, Kai went in to attack with a fiery punch. Allen countered with his own, but with stronger dark fire than the regular fire. Allen's punch hurt Kai a lot, and being slowed by the pain, Allen quickly pushed him back with his leg before the fire ninja could do anything else.

Next, Kai tried attacking with his Blade, but Allen dodged all the attacks. He circled around and gave Kai a quick kick in the ribs. Then he gave a powerful backhand slap in the ninja's back, followed by a punch in a similar spot. The three attacks knocked the red ninja down.

Brisa was also enraged and slashed Allen's leg with her Blade. He tried blocking it, but it was too fast for her to do that.

 _Calm yourself down!_ Skydancer frantically told Brisa. _You need to cool down!_

 _How can I?!_ she retorted angrily, even towards her Blade.

 _Just…relax. Fight normally and confidently, and you'll be fine,_ she was advised by Skydancer.

 _Okay…cool down,_ Brisa told herself. _You can do it._

She took a deep breath and actually managed to calm herself down.

 _Good, Brisa,_ Skydancer told her. _Now answer these following questions: are you happy that you became a kunoichi?_

 _Yes,_ Brisa replied.

 _Are you happy that there are people that are proud of you in this world, like your parents and friends?_

 _Yes, I am happy,_ she replied once again.

 _Then do you believe that you always have to make people proud of you, or happy for you?_

On this question, Brisa hesitated to answer. It was always nice to get praise from people, but that is what makes people arrogant and prideful. On the other hand, it would be impossible to make everyone happy for her due to people's different expectations…

 _So? What is your answer?_ Skydancer pressed her for an answer. _There isn't much time left!_

 _Um…no!_ she blurted out suddenly. _I mean, I can't always make everyone happy. And I don't think I should, anyways._

 _That is a wise answer, Brisa. You shouldn't always worry about what other people think._ Without another word, Skydancer became quiet. Suddenly, Brisa felt a new rush of energy within her, more energy than she had ever felt before…much was more than Spinjitzu. It was…magical to Brisa. She then understood what was going on.

"I am Brisa, the kunoichi of wind! The wind cannot and does not care about how everyone feels about it, and similarly, I should not either!" She could see Allen looking at her, analyzing what he could do. Unfortunately for him, Brisa quickly swung her Blade and released a blast of wind that sent him flying backwards. He got up instantly and decided to attack her with his own dark wind, which Brisa countered with her new and improved wind powers. She now had full control over her element, but not to the greatest extent of its power just yet. Surprisingly for Allen, the two types of wind clashed and created an explosion. He was expecting his dark wind to be more powerful, but he underestimated the power of the silver kunoichi's element.

* * *

 **Yay! Brisa unlocked her true potential, and unlike when Reyna unlocked hers and Lucas had no trouble with it, Allen seems to be struggling a bit with Brisa's! Unfortunately, Kai is knocked down, and both Zane and Astra must've taken some serious damage from their fight with Jarle, which isn't over just yet! Also, Nya is by herself against Palmer because Jay left to go to the Bounty. Let's see how she does in the next chapter...**

 **Hope you liked it!**


	51. Enhanced

**Sorry for the delay, I was really busy and didn't get a whole lot of time to write this. Hopefully I can deliver chapters in a more timely manner, but I think it'll end up being once a week because weekends are when I get to write the most. Most weekdays are busy with other things.**

 **Hope you like it!**

* * *

Chapter 51: Enhanced

Seeing Brisa unlock her true potential made the cyan kunoichi look on at her in amazement. It was a great power, and her opponent was definitely and clearly having some trouble with it, which is exactly what Nya wanted Palmer to feel.

"Look over here, not there!" Palmer roared at her blasted dark water towards her direction. Not paying attention, she was hit and was in pain immediately afterwards. Water usually didn't hurt, but this felt like a mini-tsunami had hit her with all the things it carried with it. She had to focus on her fight, not other people's fights.

As soon as she turned around, Palmer moved at her at lightning speed, striking her in the stomach. She was blown back by the impact of the attack and luckily landed on her feet. She charged at Palmer, getting ready for an attack with her Blade. Palmer easily sidestepped it and knocked her away with a slap of his hand.

Nya quickly regained her balance and surprised Palmer with a lightning fast punch to the chest. It surprised him more than it hurt, so he wasn't very bothered.

After that, Nya had decided that she would just pound him with attacks. She used her Blade to attack, but he dodged it again and tried hitting her, but she also dodged it. Then he used the advantage he had of forcing her to the defensive to continuously attack, but Nya turned the tides on him by quickly slashing Palmer with her Blade. She also blasted water into his face to blind him for a split second. In that time, she kicked him in the chest and knocked him down. She was about to finish him right there by stabbing him with her Blade, but he kicked it away while he jumped up to his feet.

Surprised that he could counter so quickly, she was frozen and took a couple of heavy hits which knocked her down. She couldn't even get up until Palmer picked her up himself…only to throw her back down. Like this, her body kept taking damage it shouldn't usually take.

Grimacing, Nya got slowly stood back up. She wasn't about to give up yet.

"Oh, you're still standing?" Palmer asked rhetorically as if he couldn't see that. "Here, have your Blade, if you want." He tossed Hydroslasher over to her, and she just barely caught it. Feeling its power, it gave her some new life and determination to win. She put a serious face on and used the Blade's power to blast water at him again.

With really fast reflexes, he countered with his own dark water, which proved to be much more powerful than her attack and easily overpowered it, coming straight towards her. She jumped out of the way because that much dark water could potentially even kill her.

She waited for him to make his move before doing anything. He was a lot more of an experienced fighter than she was and would easily be able to counter her attacks. He got impatient as the cyan kunoichi expected and came in for a close range attack.

 _A close range attack? Why would he do that when I have you here?_ Nya asked Hydroslasher.

 _Most likely, he's not going for a close range attack,_ Hydroslasher replied. _Stay alert, he might use his powers last second. He's not that reckless, I've noticed._

Nya got ready for a different attack, and sure enough, he used dark lightning in an incredibly fast speed; Nya didn't even see it coming. The lightning zapped her in the face and knocked her back many feet. She had basically ended up sleeping on her stomach on the ground.

The attack made her dizzy and blurred her vision, even on the ground.

 _Is this it?_ she asked herself. _Is it all over?_

 _No, it most certainly is not over yet!_ Hydroslasher yelled at her. _If you fail here, the entire mission fails with you!_

 _I…I can't fight much more…_

 _Much…that is the keyword! You can still fight! Don't give up!_

 _He's out of my league! I need Jay's help!_

 _That's your problem! You give up too easily! It's okay to fail, Nya. That's how you learn._

Hearing those words made Nya remember all the things she's done. She tried to play a sport, but after not being good at it the first time she tried, she gave up on it. She had given up many other things too, and this would be one of them. "I guess you're right," she whispered to herself. "I shouldn't give up."

 _I'm glad I could…_ enlighten _you,_ Hydroslasher replied to her sounding happy.

Nya slowly got up to her feet. She looked up at Palmer boldly, who had taken a step back. "I am Nya, the kunoichi of water! Just like how water can't always accomplish its task, I can't always succeed in doing what I want!" The moment she finished speaking those words, Nya felt her body glow and felt a surge of energy; it was her true potential. Palmer didn't look scared.

Nya swung her Blade and a wave of water came dashing out. Palmer countered with an equally powerful wave of dark water. The two waves collided and turned into nothing in a matter of seconds. Next, Nya blasted out a really high pressure stream of water that caught Palmer by surprise. The stream of water pushed him back, and for the first time in the fight, Palmer was down.

Nya's true potential stopped, but the cyan kunoichi still felt empowered. She dashed towards him and just as that moment, she could hear the Bounty flying above her. Jay had arrived.

Now their job was to push the Five back and force them to go to wherever they were living. That meant the ninja and kunoichi had to put in much more effort in their battle with the Five. It wasn't going to be an easy task, but they'd have to do it.

Nya was just about to attack Palmer when he got out of the way of the attack at lightning speed. Somehow, unlocking her true potential gave her better senses and reflexes, and she knew he was behind her, ready to attack in return. Surprising him and even herself, she put an arm up to block the attack perfectly without even turning around.

As a counterattack, she kicked him in the leg and then kept up offensive pressure to drive him back. It was going according to plan…so far.

* * *

Lloyd and Zoe were still having trouble with Lucas. He was an incredibly hard foe for them to beat, or even push back, as the plan required. If they went in for a close range attack, he could scare them away with a beam of his dark energy, which, imaginably, was very difficult to dodge at close distances. However, if they stayed far, he could forever dodge their attacks and send beams of his own. The advantage was always in his favour.

Unfortunately for the Lloyd-Zoe duo was that the pink kunoichi couldn't even use her powers fully yet. She could heal, but she doubted that she could heal someone if they were dead, or turned into nothing like Lucas' attacks would do. The thought of that made her shudder.

"Zoe, I think you have to unlock a new power here, in this fight," Lloyd told her without taking his eyes off Lucas. One or two seconds was all the One needed to kill them.

"That would be pretty hard to do, Lloyd," she replied nervously. With such pressure on her like even coming close to landing an attack on Lucas…she didn't think she could possibly create a new attack or defensive ability.

"We just have to find a way to get him off balance or surprise him, even if it's for a second!" Lloyd flared in frustration. "But the question is: how?"

"One of us attack close range…the other attacks from afar," she said nervously again.

Lloyd shot a quick look at her. "That means you're going close range and I'm staying here! Neither of us stand a chance against him in close range combat!"

"If all he wants to do is dodge, then I can force him to turn his back or his side towards you," Zoe defended her idea. "Then you can hit him with a beam of energy!"

"What if he figures that out and dodges and it hits you? Or what if I miss and it hits you? If that happens, I'll never forgive myself!"

"Don't worry, nothing's going to happen," she replied like she had a plan. She flashed him a quick smile before running in. Lloyd wanted to stop her, but he knew it was useless to try.

Lucas got surprised that either of them would try a head on attack, especially Zoe. Lloyd, maybe, because he was more experienced, but he didn't expect Zoe at all. He prepared to block her regardless. If the green ninja was staying behind, they were definitely planning something and he'd have to block rather than dodge. Dodging would give a small amount of time for his opponents to attack him, and he couldn't afford to give that away.

Zoe, noticing that Lucas was not going to dodge but instead would block, changed her plan as she got closer to him. She'd have to use her strength to slam into him and turn him around. To be safer, she would have to break free of him and hope that it would push him back just a bit to make Lloyd's aim easier.

She slammed into him as she wanted to do, pushing him back. However, Zoe had not expected an attack in return. Lucas kneed her in the stomach, and although it didn't hurt much, it was enough to let go and make the plan fail.

The green ninja would not stand around doing nothing, so he ran in and hoped he could catch Lucas by surprise, but the One knew he was coming and turned towards him. Lloyd froze in his tracks as the glare given by Lucas was enough to discourage him from coming any closer. However, the small amount of time Lucas wasn't watching his enemies cost him to take a nasty kick to the face from Zoe, which surprised him quite a bit. Even Zoe and Lloyd were very surprised that she was able to kick that high.

Unfortunately, the kick didn't do much to give them a bigger advantage. Both Lloyd and Zoe had stopped moving because they were that shocked, and Lucas was trying to regain his balance. As soon as he was fine again, he attacked Zoe. The pink kunoichi rolled out of the way as Lloyd took the opportunity to land another blow to Lucas' face.

 _That's it!_ Lloyd exclaimed in his head. _We caught him off guard and surprised him…now he lost his cool and isn't thinking properly!_

That only served to make the One angrier, which isn't something they should've done. Lloyd jumped back, and even Zoe, who was already out of his way, took a step back. Lucas focused energy into both of his hands and blasted it in both directions the ninja and kunoichi were standing in. They dodged it, and everyone else in the path of the beam also dodged it. The two beams hit two separate buildings and left a wide hole in their walls, possibly even deeper than the outside.

Lucas then set his sights on Lloyd. He gave another glare which froze Lloyd with fear. He felt like he couldn't move.

Lucas ran at the green ninja really quickly. The first punch allowed Lloyd to move again, and he did his best to defend against the rest of the attacks. Sensing someone behind him, Lucas turned around to find Zoe trying to hit him, but she also froze in fear. Lloyd took that chance to punch him in the ribs, and Zoe tried punching him as well, but Lucas ducked and avoided it. He then delivered a strong counterattack to Zoe, punching her in the face and knocking her back.

Angered, Lloyd delivered a super fast kick to Lucas' leg, but the One stepped over the kick. They then delivered a barrage of attacks at high speeds, sometimes hitting and sometimes being hit. Eventually, the two ran out of energy to continue fighting at such a speed.

Both sides would have to think of another way to beat the other…

* * *

Zane and Astra were both on the ground in pain. Jarle seemed quite well at the moment, and although he had taken a few hits earlier when they were still in the hospital, it hadn't done much to him to stop him from beating the new couple up.

Jarle calmly walked over to Astra, who was on the ground, trying to get up but couldn't.

 _Can you attack him yourself? Please?_ Astra comically asked Rayseeker.

 _Um, no, unfortunately. You have to use my power; I don't just take generic orders like that._

 _Well then, blast him with a beam of light!_

 _Sorry, the attack has to be within the wielder's capability as well. I know what you train me to do, but I can tell you what I am capable of doing if you were a Master of Light._

 _That's right!_ _I'm looking forward to that!_ Astra exclaimed to herself. _I can't just let it end here when I have things to accomplish later._

 _That's the spirit!_ Rayseeker also said excitedly.

As if nothing had happened, Astra shot up like a rocket onto her feet just as Jarle was about to finish her with a powerful punch to her back. She jumped backwards, and then she sprang forward and jumped into the air, and then she started spinning.

The power she felt at that moment was almost unreal. To Jarle, it was like time had stopped for him and she got up and jumped over him while he still tried to punch her on the ground even though she was no longer there. To Astra, everything happened in a split second, including when she began spinning, swallowed Jarle up, and spat him out onto the stairs. The stairs must've hurt a lot.

Zane had watched all of it from the ground. "Astra! You learnt Spinjitzu!" Right after he said that, his head dropped and he lost energy.

* * *

 **Nya unlocks her true potential, and Astra does Spinjitzu for the first time...in one chapter! Great! Unfortunately, Astra might be by herself against Jarle because Zane seems severely hurt. Will she manage, or will Zane get back up?**

 **Also, I've realized recently that this story lacks conflicts between the team. This story was kind of...basic and formulaic, without any real drama. I'm hoping I can fix that in my other story when this one is done, because it's kind of late now to add problems, and I'm really not going to go back to do so.**

 **Anyways, hope you liked it!**


	52. Take Back the Fight

**Sorry for yet another relatively long wait. I was, again, busy this week and didn't get to write anywhere near as much as I was expecting to. Also, I had to send in my laptop for repair and have to use a different one that I really don't like using and try to avoid...lol.**

 **Anyways, hope you like it!**

* * *

Chapter 52: Take Back the Fight

"Zane! No!" Astra screamed in horror as she saw the nindroid's head fall. She really hoped nothing more happened than him losing the energy to stay up and help her.

"You don't have time to worry about him," Jarle told her as he got back up from Astra's Spinjitzu attack.

Astra turned around in horror as she saw Jarle back up on his feet, stretching his arms and legs to get ready to try and kill her and Zane.

 _Even though you only managed to do Spinjitzu for the first time, you have still gotten significantly stronger from that accomplishment,_ Rayseeker tried to cheer the yellow kunoichi up.

 _That's right! He's not fast, and I can use that to my advantage!_ Astra exclaimed in happiness. There was still hope in their fight.

Faster than she had ever expected to be, she ran at Jarle and landed a good punch in his stomach. She looked at her fist in amazement. "How'd I move so fast?!" she exclaimed, feeling even more hopeful than before. It was like she moved at the speed of light!

Even Jarle had the same question Astra had asked because he was very surprised by the speed. The faster she ran at him, the more force the punch packed, which was bad for him. He wasn't even good at using his wit to counter such a thing because he was too slow to use it. He'd have to rely on his elemental powers much more than he anticipated which would drain him out of energy really quickly.

Immediately, he turned himself into nothingness by bending the light around him to match the light that reflected off him. That was the secret to how he made himself invisible.

Being ready for that, she was just about to call on the power of Rayseeker's light to reveal his location when she felt a strong punch to her side. It seemed Jarle was faster with that than she expected.

The punch hurt, but it wasn't enough to discourage her from continuing. She moved in at lightning fast speeds and delivered a barrage of powerful attacks that were boosted by her speed. Jarle struggled to defend against such quick attacks, and Astra had the upperhand at that point by pushing Jarle back by going on the offensive.

* * *

Brisa was still fighting against Allen while also making sure to always protect Kai. For some reason, Allen was very keen on putting an end to Kai, so Brisa always had to fight on the defensive. She couldn't let her defense break for even a moment because that could mean big trouble for Kai.

One good thing was that Brisa was able to slash Allen with her Blade, which must've been doing something to hinder the One. He wasn't nearly as fast as he usually was, and he was getting more and more impatient with each passing minute. That showed that Allen wasn't able to use his brain as much anymore, and his wits and clever thinking were his biggest weapons that he could use against Brisa (and Kai).

Brisa tried using that to her advantage, but it was hard because Allen would use all sorts of attacks: elemental, close range, and even aerial attacks. It was hard to defend against all of those, and she was really tired but had to keep going.

Allen changed up his element this time and tried to put Brisa at a disadvantage by using dark fire. He hadn't thought of it before, but using his other element on her might be a good idea.

Fortunately for the silver kunoichi, she could blow it back with the wind from her Blade. It was dangerous, but she had to do it and hoped none of her friends got hurt by it.

Allen got angry at her and rushed in for an attack. The sudden move surprised Brisa, but she had to prepare for it. Her plan was to dodge it and then attack with her Blade. She wasn't very sure if it would work, but she'd have to try.

As the silver kunoichi was hoping, she dodged the reckless attack with ease. Angering Allen was a good way to beat him because it stopped his best weapons. Unfortunately, she left Kai wide open for an attack, and he was still on the ground, so Brisa had to quickly slash the One with her Blade. Skydancer hit Allen right in the chest and left a gash there.

Now with the winds in her favour, she had to keep up the offensive pressure on Allen and not let him get anywhere near Kai. It would be hard to do both, but she would have to.

* * *

Cole and Reyna were still fighting Tylor. The three of them had become tired, well aware that neither side was going to back down. But they had to continue.

Cole and Reyna had to make as many long range attacks as they could. Going in close against Tylor would be dangerous for either of them because of his strength and abilities.

Cole finally figured out how to break through Tylor's wall of dark earth that would try to wrap and crush him. He'd have to use a tremendous amount of strength to break through it to not get crushed, and he had to break it everytime if Reyna got stuck in it. It was very powerful and could kill either of them very easily by crushing their body.

Cole blasted some more rocks at Tylor for the millionth time that day. He was getting tired from using the same attack so many times over.

Tylor was disgusted. "This attack again? If it didn't work even once before, what makes you think…" He jumped out of the way of the rocks. "That this will be any different?!" He jumped in at a much faster speed than Cole was expecting and landed a punch in Cole's stomach. The impact sent him flying, but Cole still landed on his feet.

Reyna managed to slash Tylor with her Blade, Vinewhipper, right in the arm. It left a cut, but it wasn't bad enough to help a lot. Reyna continued to strike with her Blade, but Tylor brought up another wall of dark earth to buy some time to get away.

Cole regrouped with Reyna. If they would have a shot at beating Tylor, they'd have to work together, not alone. That meant attacking at the same time to force him to pay attention to both of them. The question was: how would they do that? Cole could stand a chance in close range combat, but Reyna didn't have any long range attacks to make it work. If Reyna went in for a close range attack, she would easily be overpowered, making Cole's attack useless. It was a tough decision for sure, but they would have to come up with an idea eventually.

"What if we go close to attack? Both of us at once?" Reyna suggested to the black ninja while whispering.

"I guess that could work," he whispered back. "I'll go first, you follow behind. Okay?"

The teal kunoichi nodded in agreement. As soon as he saw that, the earth ninja dashed off, and Reyna followed closely behind. Although she wasn't thinking about it just before, she split from him and went around to Tylor's side. It would be much harder for Tylor to block like that.

However, Tylor seemed like he was prepared. Out of the ground, huge, dark plants taller than himself appeared. They weren't the bright green that Reyna's vines and plants were, but they were a dark and pale green, some even brown, black, or, weirdly enough, purple.

The couple stopped in their tracks, not knowing what these dark plants could do. They obviously looked dangerous, and having no idea what the plants could do, they stepped back to get away from them.

"What's the matter? Not going to come any closer?" Tylor challenged them from behind the wall of dark plants.

Neither Cole nor Reyna knew how to respond to such a taunt when they had no idea what the plants could do. However, an idea quickly popped into Reyna's mind. "Cole!" she whispered a bit loudly. "Use your earth powers to trap the plants, and in the time he takes to break it, we run through and attack him!"

Cole looked over at the teal kunoichi and smiled. Even though it wasn't the time to do it, he gave her a quick kiss on her forehead. "You can come up with some great ideas sometimes!"

They approached the wall of dark plants and made sure it wasn't possible for Tylor to see them. If there was one flaw about his technique, it was that: he didn't have much time to react against an attack that evades the plants because he couldn't see past them.

The black ninja quickly surrounded the two areas of dark plants in a wall of earth in the shape of a rectangle. If Tylor wanted the plants to help him, he'd have to break two sides of the wall on both walls that Cole had put up.

Cole and Reyna ran around as fast as they could while Tylor smashed the important walls as fast as he could. However, being caught in the middle of doing something, the two of them managed to land some good hits on him. They continued to keep it up by continuously hitting him and driving him back. The main goal was to push Tylor forward, not backwards towards the hospital. They wanted him to run back to his "base" where his master would be.

And so Cole and Reyna had to change directions and start pushing him in another direction, and the dark plants were out of range or blocked to attack back. Both the ninja and the kunoichi slashed him multiple times with their Blades too. If they could get rid of them hear, that would be great, but unlikely. Soon enough, they were pushing the One in the direction they needed him to go.

* * *

All of the others were succeeding except for Lloyd and Zoe. It seemed like quite a stalemate in their fight, with neither side knowing how to beat the other, especially the ninja and kunoichi who would have more trouble than Lucas.

 _Just need to get him off guard…_ Lloyd grimaced as he got ready to deliver another attack. _For one second!_

Lloyd summoned a huge blast of energy and shot it to Lucas' direction. Zoe took advantage of that moment that Lucas would use to dodge to try and attack, but Lucas dodged the opposite way Zoe was running in. There was a beam of energy separating the two, so it was impossible for her to attack him through that.

 _He predicted the attack…and then he predicted where Zoe would go to attack hi, so he dodged the opposite side…amazing,_ Lloyd breathed at the One's skill. Zoe had stood at Lloyd's left, so Lucas knew that if the green ninja fired a beam, Zoe would be cut off from him if he dodged to his left (or their right).

This time, Lloyd and Zoe were ready for Lucas to do such a thing. Zoe was standing directly behind Lloyd, waiting for the green ninja to fire his beam of energy at Lucas. Whichever side Lucas dodged to would be the side Zoe would attack from.

Unfortunately for the duo, Lucas expected them to think of something like that this time around, so he remained one step ahead of them by going on the offensive just as Lloyd was about to release the beam.

The sudden attack scared the two of them as they jumped out of the way of it. Lloyd would have to pull off a much faster beam if he wanted to actually hit the One because he was really fast himself.

Lucas immediately stopped and went after Lloyd. The green ninja decided that he would no longer run from his attacks unless necessary, like when he uses a dark elemental attack. It wouldn't help him during the final battle if he didn't know Lucas' fighting style.

The two engaged in close combat. Lucas, having much more experience than Lloyd, could easily overpower Lloyd, but he also had to be wary of Zoe behind him, so he couldn't give his full concentration to the green ninja.

Lloyd kept getting smacked around by Lucas, not having any opportunity at all to retaliate and make a counterattack. It was really hard fighting him.

Luckily for Lloyd, he was saved by Zoe when she managed to get a surprise attack on Lucas. It caught him slightly off balance and as he was trying to regain it to not be pushed back like the rest of his allies, a fit of attacks were thrown his way and he was unable to dodge all of them, although he did manage to dodge a few. Fighting against him, it was really important and lucky to get even a second to fire off some attacks on him. Lucas was able to see, adapt to and predict nearly everything they had done so far, giving him a big advantage throughout the course of their fight.

Lucas expected the flurry of attacks from the pink kunoichi to end soon, but they didn't; they kept on coming at him. Suddenly, Zoe felt a lot more powerful than before. There was a change in her body, with a surge of energy rushing through it, and it made her spin around. Having mastered the training course with only Lloyd knowing about it, she began spinning really fast and instantly knew that it was Spinjitzu. Her pink tornado swallowed Lucas up and tossed him back out. Not knowing which way was up or down, he couldn't land on his feet to get his balance. Instead, he was pulled up by Lloyd and he too delivered a flurry of rapid attacks at the One. The tides had now turned, and all of the ninja and kunoichi were pushing back their enemies.

* * *

 **Hurray! Zoe learnt Spinjitzu too now! That's the fourth "power unlocking" that's happened during this fight. Nya and Brisa's full potentials, and Astra and Zoe's Spinjitzu. Of course, Reyna and the ninja are past that. Now they will try to follow the Five back to where they were living...we'll see what goes on over there in the next chapter...**

 **Hope you liked it!**


	53. The Leader

**Well, here was another pretty long delay. I just found it hard to write this chapter, no idea why, but it was. Maybe I was bored because the fight was done, haha.**

 **Anyways, enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 53: The Leader

The attacks from the ninja and kunoichi were pushing the Five back, which was actually surprising them all. Nya, Brisa, and Astra were all doing it on their own while the ninja they were supposed to fight alongside with were knocked out on the ground, but they hoped they would be back up soon. After all, doing the job alone was very tiring and it could very easily backfire if the Five get a chance to attack back so maintaining constant pressure against them was key.

However, two of the ninja being knocked out on the ground would prove to be a big nuisance in a bit, but nobody realized that just yet. The plan was to force the Five to go back to their "base" but if the ninja weren't up by then, they couldn't just be left behind, could they? The problem was that they either leave the ninja behind, waste time putting them on the Bounty, or not follow the Five at all. All the options they would soon have to face weren't very good or favourable.

Eventually, the Five caught on to their plan to push them back. In hopes of destroying the plan, they began destroying the city with any spare moment they had. They could easily blow things up with one hand and use the other to defend as best as they could. Unfortunately for them, the ninja and kunoichi weren't _too_ concerned with that because most people had left the places they were at after the Five arrived anyways.

 _Don't get fooled by their destruction. Stick to the plan,_ Quakesmasher advised Cole. _They want you to waste time fixing their mess while they run away._

 _I was going to assume that, but thanks anyway!_ the earth ninja quickly told his Blade.

The Five continued to destroy things: Palmer zapped street lights, and the light bulbs inside exploded due to having too much power in them. He also shot bolts of dark lightning at buildings, breaking walls and windows as well. Allen used his dark wind to slice through things and his dark fire to cause fires. The fires were a real threat, but the hope was that a fire crew could deal with it.

Jarle used beams of dark light to blast open walls of buildings, and he froze an entire restaurant with dark ice. Everyone knew the restaurant would no longer be there soon enough because nobody in Ninjago City would know how to handle it and unfreeze the restaurant. The dark ice would crush the building eventually.

Tylor tossed dark earth around, leaving huge holes in the walls of apartments, office buildings, and even some houses. Lucas knew he could use his power to scare Lloyd and Zoe away, but he also had a feeling it wouldn't scare them away because they could continue attacking while he wouldn't be able to use the attack on them when constantly interrupted. Instead, he sent an ominous cloud of his dark energy through buildings that had been damaged by the other Four's attacks. Both Lloyd and Zoe looked terrified of the cloud and really wondered what it would do.

That answer came soon enough when they could hear screams from inside the building, even when they were so far away. It sent chills down their spines, and they knew people were dying inside the building.

 _Why…why couldn't they leave like everyone else?!_ Lloyd flared on the inside, getting angry at them when he should've been trying to save them. But the green ninja knew trying to save them would be a total waste and he might've end up getting himself killed instead by the same cloud.

As quickly as he had released the cloud of death, Lucas avoided the next incoming attacks and ran off. Seeing him run, the other Four followed his lead and began running through the city while also destroying it at the same time.

Without being told, Jay, who was still on the Bounty, went to pursue after him and the two ninja and five kunoichi were also about to follow his lead when Cole and Reyna stopped as soon as they started.

"Wait, we can't just leave Zane and Kai!" Cole realized very suddenly. Reyna nodded in agreement, having the same thought on her mind.

"Somebody needs to stay back in case they get back up…maybe even two people…" Reyna added with unease.

"Then we can't all go together!" Nya complained. After working so hard to force herself to make the plan go accordingly, Nya didn't want it to end right there.

Luckily for them, Jay managed to notice the fact that his allies weren't moving and following him. Making a mental note of which direction the Five were running in, he swerved down with the Bounty and came to ground level with them.

"I know what you guys are thinking – but get on…and bring Kai and Zane!" Jay yelled quickly from the deck and ran inside as fast as he had bolted out.

Cole and Lloyd quickly sprinted to the other side of the ship to pick up the red and white ninja while the kunoichi jumped on to the Bounty. Cole and Lloyd also jumped on very soon, but they were delayed further by the three sensei, who had just come down the hospital.

"Wait for us! We're coming too!" Garmadon shouted out at them. Fortunately for him, Wu, and Misako, Cole and Lloyd heard Garmadon's voice and somehow managed to relay the message that the three sensei were also coming with them.

The three of them also jumped on to the ship, and in moments, they were up and soaring through the sky. Lucky for them, there was enough room for the Bounty to go up in between the hospital and the other surrounding buildings. It would be a big problem if there wasn't…

As they flew through the air, it wasn't hard for the crew on the Bounty to spot the Five. They were still destroying things in their way, and even things that weren't.

 _That's a bad idea,_ Voltstriker told Jay while he was piloting the ship. The Blade was hidden in his pocket under his shirt, a very weird spot for someone to place a sword, but it worked nonetheless. He'd need the Blade's company while flying it, and they couldn't communicate if Voltstriker wasn't teaching the blue ninja. _They might think the others are still following, just secretly or far behind, but their dark elements and path of destruction allow us to find them easily._

Jay nodded in agreement. The Five had practically revealed their location by continuing to destroy things, and they allowed the Bounty to follow them. A big problem was if they decided to attack the Bounty. Jay wasn't even confident enough to say that the ship was out of range of their attacks, and if it was, he couldn't make any assumption that he'd be able to dodge the attack in time, and that thought alone scared him a lot.

One good thing was that he was going slow enough so that the Five remained in his sight on the ground, ahead of the Bounty. If he was right above them, any one of the Five could easily blast the team out of the sky. He was at a fairly safe distance, but it was far from harmless.

They chased the Five to the outskirts of Ninjago City, and the desert that would be their only scenery went on and on for a very long time. The Five showed no intention of trying to stop their pursuers; in fact, they acted like there was nothing unusual about running for kilometers and being chased by a big flying boat.

They continued on and on, and soon, night had fallen which made tracking them a bit more difficult. On the map, Nya checked where they were and they were nowhere close to any city or even a town, and there was nothing familiar nearby either. They had been brought out to the middle of nowhere.

After what seemed like forever, the Five finally stopped running. Jay had no choice but to turn on the "headlights" of the Bounty to continue seeing them long before that happened. If they genuinely didn't know they were being followed that whole time, they would definitely know when the lights turned on.

The Five turned around and looked up at the Bounty and made some hand motions as if to say "come down, we won't do anything." Taking the risk, Jay landed the Bounty and everybody hopped off. Kai and Zane were fine now too, so they also came along.

"We know you came to find out where we've been living this whole time since we first met," Lucas explained without any hesitations. After all, if either of the parties should be scared, it should be the ninja and the kunoichi. It wouldn't be hard for the Five to kill them all in the dark, and there was little chance anyone would ever know about it anyways. "And I'll invite you into our little…residence. We won't harm you as long as you don't do that to us or any of our soldiers. Agreed?"

The ninja, kunoichi, and sensei were all stunned. They weren't expecting something so nice, at least not from Lucas. Palmer saying such things was understandable, as that was his nature, but the Five had probably talked over about this in the hours they were running to get here.

"That's…that's fine," Cole replied, not sure if he should be the one to give the answer, but he took charge anyways. No one seemed to object, so they entered their "residence" as Lucas called it, which went totally unseen by any of the ninja, kunoichi, and sensei.

The entrance was a tunnel in the ground and they walked forward, the Five in front, leading them. Soon enough, lights were on the walls that they walked past, and everyone could finally see what was ahead of them. They looked around at the walls, but it was very plain and there was nothing written on them like an Egyptian tomb would likely have.

They continued their walk and soon they entered a much more open space. They saw the soldiers of the Five, the Dead Army, they were called. The Army stared at them but made no motion at all towards them.

The group was lead into a much bigger room with a cold throne in the center of the room. A person sat on the throne, but the room was too dark for them to see the person's face. They all strained their eyes to catch a glimpse of the person's face, but it wasn't any use.

The person snapped their fingers, and in an instant, there were enough lights so that everyone could see each other, including the one sitting on the chair.

The ninja, kunoichi, and sensei all saw the person on the throne. It was an old man, about Wu's age, but he looked strong, fierce, and determined. Wu didn't radiate the strong and fierce part, but he was definitely determined, so there were some similarities.

The man on the chair immediately noticed something about the three sensei, but he remained quiet towards them. Instead, he decided to give them all a welcome. "Welcome, everybody, to my throne room. This is where I spend the majority of my time, sitting, thinking, and sleeping.

"That's nice, but…we still don't know who you are…" Jay muttered. Nobody else was bold enough to say that, but Jay knew the man was nice enough to not be completely strict and respected. He didn't seem like that kind of person.

The man grinned as if the answer to that question was very secretive. "You asked, so I'll give you the answer. My name is Byron, and I want the power for your Blades." He gave a dangerous smile, and everyone was left shocked that he was the Byron Wu and Misako had told them about long ago.

"Yo-you're Byron?" Lloyd asked in disbelief.

"The brother of Nekro?!" Nya was also bewildered.

"You fought your own brother?!" Reyna also exclaimed out of surprise.

Byron laughed out loud. His laugh sounded like that of a typical villain. "Yes, that's me. I fought my brother, Nekro, and my father banished me into exile. It's been a very sad and boring life, so I thought I could spice it up and have fun by trying to dominate over Ninjago!" He sounded proud and gleeful towards the end of his sentence.

The ninja, kunoichi, and sensei were all disgusted by his motives. He wanted to risk so many people's lives for his own _entertainment_?

"That's stupid," Kai spat. "A lot of people have had a hard life, but you don't see them being sad about it trying to look better by doing dumb things like this."

Byron felt amused. "Oh really? Is that so?" He didn't even bother countering or defending himself. He looked towards the three sensei standing at the back. "Long time no see, Wu, Garmadon, and Misako. Garmadon, I thought you were evil too…could've joined my side…" he muttered in disappointment.

The ninja and kunoichi turned back at the sensei, even more surprised that Byron somehow knew them all.

"Sensei? He knows all three of you?!" Zane couldn't understand how Byron knew the three.

"Oh, did none of them tell you?" Byron asked, unamused by the shock and suspense he was creating. "My father and the father of Wu and Garmadon were brothers."

"Which makes you…" Astra began.

"Their cousin!" Brisa squeaked.

Zoe was confused, not knowing the story. "Hold up, hold up! I've been wondering since we entered this room. Who's Byron? Who's Nekro? And why are they so important?"

"You see this clown in front of us?" Cole actually became impatient for once.

"He's the one who's been leading the Five so far, so he's an enemy," Lloyd finished the quick explanation.

"Aaaaaand who's Nekro?" the pink kunoichi re-asked that question.

"Nekro is Byron's younger brother," Misako answered that question. "When they were younger, they had a fight much like Wu and Garmadon did. Nekro won, and Byron was exiled."

Zoe looked at the two brothers, Wu and Garmadon. It was hard to imagine that they had a serious fight when they were younger, but it had to be true.

"Sensei, why did you hide the fact that you were cousins with him?" the blue ninja asked Sensei Wu.

"Yeah, I mean, it's surprising, but not that big of a deal," the cyan kunoichi elaborated a bit to not sound like they were mad at him for keeping it a secret.

"I just…didn't think it was necessary, as you said yourself," Wu admitted honestly. With the answer they got, they nodded and turned back around to look at Byron, still sitting on his throne. However, he was looking quite amused.

* * *

 **So Byron is a first cousin to Wu and Garmadon, and he's trying to rule Ninjago for fun...wow...what a guy. But next chapter we'll hear more about him and his backstory.**

 **And just so you know...this is STILL the same day as I think...chapter 42 or 43. That's 10 chapters before this, and it's still the same day in the story. Pretty crazy. Anyways, hope you liked it!**


	54. True Colours

**Back with another chapter! I was actually going to continue a part of the next chapter into this one because I thought this would be shorter, but ultimately I decided not to because it would be too many words for this chapter and would cut into the next one. It would also be kind of useless because you'll only read like 100 words from the next chapter so it wasn't really worth it. Anyways, hope you like it!**

* * *

Chapter 54: True Colours

Midnight was fast approaching to mark the end of this long day. It started off with Brisa receiving the letter from her parents and doing Spinjitzu at will. In the afternoon, they had went to Zoe's house to meet her parents, but only Lloyd and Zoe stayed there for a longer period of time. The other major thing was that Zane took Astra to the hospital. Later in the evening, they were called to the hospital by Zane so that Zoe could work whatever power she could on Astra. Even before the yellow kunoichi had been healed, the Five showed up to attack and all the ninja and kunoichi minus Zoe and Astra went out to go fight them. Now here they were, past 11 o'clock, meeting the Five's leader for the first time ever. There, they found out that he is the cousin of Wu and Garmadon, which made their day much weirder than usual.

"I don't get it – if you want to have fun, why would you try stunts like these?" Misako asked Byron.

Byron's eyed widened in excitement. "Stunts, you call them? Well, it's fun to go against the majority! You have to be rebellious! That's why I was banished and exiled from my hometown when I was younger."

"And doing something that could cost the lives of many people is fun?" Garmadon wanted to clarify to know if he should go knock some sense into his cousin.

Byron shrugged. "I lived a pretty boring and lonely life. I figured this would be great to…uh…add some spice into it. If I end up dying, so be it, I'm going to die sooner or later anyways. If I live to see my plan succeed, at least I'd have some fun fighting against you before I can succeed."

Brisa felt like she was going to blow up on him, and Kai felt the same way. "Then how about you die right now?!" she screamed at Byron. Her voice could be heard echoing throughout the entirety of their underground home.

Byron pretended to be scared and put his hands up. "Oh, but we made an agreement that we would not fight each other here. If we didn't make that agreement, I could've had you all killed immediately and nobody in the world would know about it except for us."

The ninja and kunoichi put their hands on their Blades as if to challenge that threat.

"Now now, don't get hasty," he quickly told them. "I plan on keeping the promise I made. Unless, of course, one of you break it first. Then I'll have no choice but to order for all of you to be dead."

Kai and Brisa glared angrily at the man. He was acting like he had supernatural powers that could kill them in an instant.

"Why do you value this promise so much?" Wu asked a dangerous question. If Byron changed his mind, things would get ugly – really ugly. "You said so yourself: you could easily have us all killed, so why don't you do that?"

Byron was confused as to why he was asking that. He was being nice by sparing their lives. He straightened up and gave a proper answer. "Well, Wu…and actually, everyone else here. You may view me as the bad guy, but I'm actually not evil. Greedy, yes. Bored, yes. But I do have some principle. After all, my parents still raised me to be a nice guy like all of you. You see, I just…want…power." He gave a smile that was completely fake at the end.

 _He's definitely lying about being nice and having principle,_ Wu thought in his mind. _He wants to make it seem that way to us._ Misako and Garmadon also picked that up, although the ninja and kunoichi didn't think of that. The problem was, if any of them said it out loud, they were almost certain the Five would attack them.

"So, tell us about this boring life of yours," Zoe commanded him.

Byron acted like he was honoured. "Yes, definitely. You see, after I was exiled, I wandered around Ninjago for so many years – decades, in fact. I had no place I could call home. It didn't help that I looked like a liar and a criminal not long after that-"

 _Still do,_ Garmadon thought in his head.

"-So naturally, people wouldn't trust me because they think I'd mess something up. I made no friends in all the places I went to, and hardly got much out of anyone…it was, clearly, enough to survive until this day."

"One day, around 20 years ago, I bought books and scrolls from Ninjago City based on old legends. One of those legends mentioned the Five – there wasn't much information on them, but it said they were extremely powerful and locked away a long time ago. It didn't say where, so I spent the past 20 years trying to find where they were. When I found the first One, Palmer, I figured out how to find out where the rest of them were. What that idea was, I cannot and will not tell you, but you can guess that it worked."

"That does sound pretty boring," Jay commented after the story seemed to be finished.

"How did you even survive that long?" Astra asked, actually amazed at his will to live even after being turned down so many times.

He shrugged. "You get used to feeling rejected. I did, however, earn a lot of money through certain jobs. I was occasionally attacked by people whom I'd easily defeat. Then their masters would approach me with a job for assassinating someone, which, of course, was illegal, but people had their reasons to do it anyways. They offered big money, so I took up those jobs and succeeded at them."

"So you're not a real Mr. Nice Guy, are you?" Cole asked in a threatening tone.

"Yes, you did dirty jobs like those!" Zane practically accused him even though it happened a long time ago.

Byron let out a big, booming laugh. "I was good at something, and I got money for doing it. It's no different than an ordinary job in that sense. Obviously, it's not a good thing, but…I don't regret it."

With each passing minute, the ninja and kunoichi were more and more convinced that he was a bad guy, even if he didn't say so himself. His face and personality changed since when he first spoke to them. Now, they could see his cruel and dangerous personality. In fact, if he took down groups of people single-handedly, he might not even need the Five to beat them.

The anger in the ninja, kunoichi, and sensei quickly turned to fear as they realized they had another dangerous enemy they might need to fight.

Byron broke into a smile. "So, is there anything else you'd like to know?"

The throne room went silent. Everyone began to fear him rather than hate him. Well, they still hated him for his personality and goal, but they were much more scared of him now. He could be a strong and dangerous opponent for them.

"I don't think there's much left for us to say now," Misako spoke on behalf of them all, looking around to see if there were any objections.

Byron waved his hand away. "Then you're free to go back to your ship. Follow the same path you came on."

There was a great deal of displeasure while the ninja, kunoichi and sensei were shuffling around to walk back the way they came. They hardly talked as they walked back out to the Bounty.

Once the Five were sure that the ninja, kunoichi and sensei were gone, they turned around to look at Byron.

"Why?" Lucas asked him fiercely, assuming that Byron knew what he was talking about.

Byron looked a little surprised. "Why what?"

"Why did you want to 'honour' your promise? Why can't we just blast their ship out of the sky right now?" Lucas was angry, which wasn't a good thing.

Byron chuckled a bit. "Like I said, I have some ethics. We agreed we wouldn't harm each other, so I wanted to keep it that way."

"Well, right now would be the perfect time to blow them up," Lucas still tried defending himself and his perspective. "They should be on their ship by now, so they left our property. We're free to do as we please."

Byron also got a little angry because Lucas was so persistent. "I said no. We will not do this right. I won't allow it." He stood up and stepped down. Lucas made the slightest movement to approach Byron, and he instantly knew he was trying to attack. Byron moved at lightning speed and clamped the One's arm down. "Another moment, and I could've disabled your arm for a few days," he whispered in Lucas' ear. "I hope you will not betray me, else you will face my full wrath." Being angered by Lucas' words, Byron stormed off and went to a different place in their underground base.

Also angered, Lucas walked out ready to explode. Only Allen followed him, and the rest went about to mind their own business. Allen sure was brave to walk around and follow Lucas, who was headed straight outside, maybe to get some fresh air.

They got outside and saw that the Bounty had just left and was slowly ascending to the sky. It was 10 minutes until midnight, and the sky was very dark, but the fuel released by the flying ship was unmissable.

"Lucas, don't," Allen warned his ally. None of the Five had ever seen Byron fight; the incident right now was the closest it had gotten to that. But, they could easily judge that based on his current display of speed, it would be hard for Lucas to beat him if Byron was angered to his limit. That could very well occur if Lucas decided to attack the ship.

Lucas turned around, seething at Allen. The anger wasn't necessarily directed to the One of dark fire and air, but he had added on to it. "Nobody gives orders to me, got it?" he said in a very deadly tone. Allen almost stepped back, but he knew he shouldn't. Lucas turned back around and put on a small display of his power. There were breezes of air that flew around them, and Allen could see Lucas' power collecting around him.

The power was increased, now blowing real wind. It still didn't faze Allen, who was the Master of Dark Wind. He had used wind far more powerful than this.

Lucas tilted his head ever so slightly, giving Allen a view of his eyes. They were glowing purple. _It's his ultimate potential! But still, that's not even half of his power…_ Allen jumped back several meters. It was dangerous to be around his deadly power, which was still collecting outside of him. Small pebbles also began to fly around at this point.

" _Nobody_ tells me what to do. _Nobody_ gives me commands!" Lucas raged. He wasn't used to being bossed around. His power spiked tremendously high, the wind was blowing around them rapidly. The ground underneath Lucas cracked and created a crater. Allen jumped back again and covered his face: the wind was that powerful.

He could clearly see Lucas' purple eyes. That's what it looked like when one of the Five used their ultimate potential. The wind was blasting around in all directions, even straight up far above the two of them. Bigger rocks began to fly around, and even the walls that Allen was standing next to were beginning to crack.

Slowly, Lucas began charging up an attack. It looked deadly, even to Allen. He knew if he tried stopping him, he'd end up dying in the process. It wasn't worth it; if Byron became furious and killed Lucas, that's on him. So why should Allen interfere?

Even still, seeing the tremendous display of power, which still may not be Lucas' full power, was somewhat…comforting. They couldn't possibly lose to the ninja and kunoichi with that kind of power on their side.

Lucas' beam of death and destruction got bigger and more powerful. He was about to launch it at the Bounty, but in a split second, he changed directions and blasted it to his left.

The impact of the release pushed both Lucas and Allen back as the stream of dark energy rocketed from Lucas' hands. Allen didn't need to see it, but based on the impact and how it sounded as it got farther from them, he could guess it was going somewhere at the speed of sound. Anything in its way would get destroyed until it hit something big enough where the beam could no longer travel.

They waited many seconds, maybe even a minute. And then, in the distance, an explosion. They had no idea what it hit, but if it was daytime, they could probably see the explosion. In the night, they only heard it. Whatever it was…it would be absolutely ruined, maybe even cease to exist now.

The sound of the explosion calmed Lucas down at last. His eyes returned to normal, and his power disappeared back inside of him. He didn't even look the least bit tired after such a powerful attack. He silently stormed past Allen, who was still a little shocked. Well, a to be fair, anyone would.

* * *

 **Wow, the power is real. Luckily, he decided not to blow up the Bounty...it would've immediately killed everyone on it too. There'll be some bonding time in the next chapter and a new day to follow! Thanks for reading!**


	55. Advancing Forward

**Took a bit longer than I expected, but it's here! Unfortunately, the Lloyd-Zoe talk time is in the next chapter because I added too many other things here...what do you think? Should I speed this story up a bit or keep it at its slow pace that it has right now? Hope you like it!**

* * *

Chapter 55: Advancing Forward

The ninja and kunoichi had no idea about the explosion that had just occurred. They hadn't even heard it.

Wu, Garmadon, and Misako all went straight to bed, but the ninja and kunoichi, although tired, decided to just calm down for a bit and then go to sleep.

To Kai and Brisa, that meant laying out on the deck like they were going to sleep while watching the sky. It had definitely been a long day, but they could spare a few more minutes.

"Hey, Brisa, can I say something?" Kai asked the silver kunoichi, who turned over to look at him.

"Yeah, what is it?"

"I just wanted to say…thank you…" he told her gratefully.

Brisa blinked. "For what?"

"Back when we were fighting Allen a few hours ago, I was knocked out, and you protected me for a while. If you hadn't done that, I would've been dead a long time ago."

Brisa smiled at the red ninja. "I had to do that, you know? I wouldn't forgive myself if I let anything happen to you. And luckily, nothing did!"

Kai turned back and looked to the sky. "But still…you practically saved my life. I don't even want to imagine what would happen if you weren't there."

"Well just be glad that I was," she replied with a big smile. Kai turned towards her and returned the smile.

Kai really wanted to tell Brisa that he liked her. His last opportunity alone had been spoiled, so maybe he'd be able to use this one where there was nobody to disturb them. Everyone was in different parts inside the Bounty while they were on the deck. It was the perfect time. "Brisa, I think this is the perfect time to tell you. You're strong, determined, and courageous…it's a good mix of traits that I like about you. I've wanted to tell you for a while…but…I love you…" Kai felt incredibly awkward saying something like that. It was just…weird, in his opinion, but Brisa simply smiled at him.

"Kai, you're really caring, helpful, and funny. You've helped me when I needed it and gave advice and just… _listened_ to what I had to say without getting mad or impatient like you might be known to do. I may not have acted like it, but I also love you!" she added excitedly at the end.

Kai was actually surprised. Brisa was right: she hadn't ever acted like he was anything more than a friend…although Kai could tell that was wrong.

Without even knowing what they were doing, they "magically" got closer and leaned in for their first kiss. A few moments later, they separated and stayed still, smiling at each other, looking weird.

After a few more minutes, they decided to go to their rooms to sleep. It had been a long day, obviously, and they needed sleep.

* * *

In the living room, or the room that had the video games, Lloyd and Zoe were sitting on the floor across from each other.

A part of Lloyd wanted to play, but he knew it was a bad idea this late into the night and Zoe wouldn't approve of it either. They quietly sat, looking around the room, and when they happened to look at each other at the same time, they immediately darted away.

"Lloyd, I think it's about time we have a serious talk," the pink kunoichi informed him like it was going to happen.

The green ninja nodded. "I could say the same to you too. There are things we need to talk about."

Neither of them really knew what the other was going to talk about, but Lloyd had to delay it until the morning or afternoon. The green ninja was tired right now, and he had no idea how long their talk would go on for so waiting for it to end before they go to sleep may be a bad idea. "How about we talk tomorrow?" Lloyd suggested. "It's late, and we should sleep soon."

Surprisingly, Zoe nodded in agreement. After all, she was tired too. The two headed to their rooms and immediately went to sleep. Eventually, everyone else came in as well, having the same idea.

* * *

In the morning, stretches were skipped due to the long and exhausting previous day and instead they trained for other things.

Nya and Brisa, who had now unlocked their true potentials, could work towards their ultimate potential with the ninja and Reyna.

"I promise you all that you will not be disturbed today," Sensei Wu told the group that was going to meditate. The ninja and Reyna were interrupted yesterday, but they could resume today and hopefully clear their mind to complete the task at hand.

Each of them went to their own separate places around the Bounty to concentrate and meditate. Meanwhile, Astra and Zoe were still outside on the deck to do some elemental training. Fortunately for both of them, they had done Spinjitzu, and according to Sensei Wu and Garmadon, were very close to being able perform it at will. They could work more on elemental training while trying to master Spinjitzu at the same time. While that may sound hard, considering the amount of time they train for in a day makes it fairly easy to balance between the two.

"First thing is first," Wu said immediately as they were about to start their daily training. "Astra, I am very glad that you are able to join us once again." He also gave his happy face to Zoe as well, who was the one who carried a lot of that weight. "Now, getting more serious, Astra, did you try using your elemental power during your fight with Jarle?" Wu asked the yellow kunoichi.

She nodded. "I tried using beams of light; they weren't very powerful. I need more practice."

He nodded in understanding. "Then you must practice using those like you said. As for you, Zoe…you unlocked your healing. Now you must explore other possibilities with you power. I am sure there are many."

"Do I get any help with possible ideas?" the pink kunoichi asked. She didn't want everything to be left to her to find out. Else, what was the point of a sensei in the first place?

Misako was the one who answered. "Yes, we will definitely try to help you. In fact, we have some ideas right now that could be possible with your powers."

"Which are?" she prompted to get a response.

"Much like Lloyd and Lucas can, you should also be able to make beams of energy," Misako gave one answer.

"You could also use a defensive tactic and create a shield for you and the others," Garmadon also pitched in an idea. "The hope would be to completely block their attacks, but I think, and Wu and Misako agree, that that's a bit unrealistic and far-fetched."

"For now, you can work towards using tactics such as those," Misako added. "You've already mastered healing."

Zoe nodded. She was glad that they were able to help her this time by telling her what it was possible for her to do using her power.

She got right to using her power to create beams of energy. It wasn't very hard to do now that she was able to heal, which, in Zoe's opinion, was much harder than any other offensive or defensive abilities she could use.

Meanwhile, Astra was focusing on her beams of light. She would just aim them in the sky in a certain direction she wanted, but she could easily tell that the beams weren't that powerful. Jarle was hardly bothered by it back in front of the hospital, and surprisingly, he gave tips on how to become stronger.

 _Your focus on aim lead to a lack of power,_ Jarle's words echoed in her head. If she wanted to step up her elemental abilities, she would have to work on aim and power at once. To do that, however, would mean to use more of her energy and maybe the Blade's energy as well.

* * *

Both Astra and Zoe continued to improve on their elemental abilities while the ninja and the other kunoichi meditated to gain a peace of mind.

Eventually, after a long time, Zane was the first to clear his mind and not think of any selfish reasons for asking his Blade, Frostbiter. Being the most patient ninja of them all, it wasn't hard to imagine why he'd be first in reaching the goal they had set for themselves.

 _Hello, Frostbiter,_ Zane greeted his Blade. _Is it a good time to talk right now?_

 _Yes, it is completely fine. Go ahead, ask whatever you'd like,_ came the reply from it.

 _First thing is first,_ Zane said to make it clear. _Is the story Sensei Wu told us about the Blades of Water, Nature, Light, and Wind true?_

 _And what story is that?_ Frostbiter asked in return.

 _They were created by the father of Byron and Nekro, and Byron wanted to steal them…it was a bit long, but that is the short version._

 _Ah well, the part of him wanting to steal it is true. However, I'm not sure whether his father created them. It could be right, or wrong, but that is only something they can answer, not me._

 _Okay, that is fair enough I suppose,_ Zane took in the information Frostbiter had given him. He'd have to make sure if the story is the same on the ends of the other Blades, the ones that the kunoichi wield.

 _Well then, tell me a little bit about yourself,_ the white ninja asked like he was conducting an interview.

 _As you know, I am Frostbiter, the Elemental Blade of Ice. I was made a long time ago, a time period that I do not remember, and was later put in the Temple of Light until you were my wielder._

 _Do you remember anything from before I obtained you?_

 _You will be surprised to hear this, Zane,_ it told him cautiously. _This isn't the first time I was used in a fight against the Five._

Zane was bewildered. Here, his Blade was telling him that this wasn't the first fight against the Five. When was the first one? How long ago was it before today? Who was the wielder back then? _Then…when was the first time? Do you remember that? Or anything?_

 _Well, it was a very long time ago. Older than your Sensei, and maybe even older than his dad. That would mean it was a couple centuries ago, to say the least._

The ice ninja was alarmed. If the Blade was this old, then that would mean the Five are very old as well…and the previous wielders of the Blades might have something important.

 _I know what you're thinking, but the previous wielders have been long dead,_ Frostbiter informed him, reading his mind. _But I can maybe give tips that they had, and information about them too._

 _Yes, that would be very helpful!_ Zane pleaded for any information he could get.

 _Careful, I can feel that you're going back to your usual self rather than your calm and peaceful self,_ it warned him. It may stop answering questions if it feels Zane is flooding his mind once again.

 _Oh, sorry about that. I did get a little excited and interested in the topic._

Frostbiter felt the thoughts and emotions disappear again. The Blade was very impressed by the fact that Zane easily drained the thoughts to clear his mind again. _The most I can tell you is about their personality and their goals. I don't think there is much else I can say about them._

 _Anything about how to defeat the Five?_ The white ninja asked hopefully.

 _That is something you already know, and something you are capable of doing. You don't need much more help for that. You are close, Zane._

Zane was surprised at the answer Frostbiter gave him. He wasn't sure if he knew how to beat the Five, but it wasn't very hard to think of a way to do so. What was hard was carrying out the plan and making it work.

 _Would you be able to tell me their personalities right now?_ the ice ninja asked curiously and hopefully.

 _Unfortunately, no. You should meditate again and I'll tell you the next time you ask…but I can only speak on behalf of my wielder, not all of them._

Zane understood what he had heard from his Blade. As much as he wanted to know immediately, he had to respect his weapon's decision.

* * *

A bit later, Zoe had completed her training for the morning and found Lloyd sitting on his bed reading comics. She had wanted to talk to him yesterday, but he delayed it to today, so she had no choice but to talk to him about it now.

"Lloyd, remember how I said I wanted to talk to you yesterday night? Well, the time has come." Her voice scared the green ninja who was lost in his book and was not expecting a visitor.

"Oh, uh, sure," he mumbled uneasily. "Come inside."

Zoe walked into the room and sat right in front of him on his own bed. He scrambled and put the comics away and sat back down facing towards her.

"So, what is it that you want to talk about?" Lloyd asked Zoe, a bit nervous to hear what she had to say after his question.

"It's…it's about your family problems…" Zoe responded quietly. The room went silent for a bit.

* * *

 **The question I asked above of whether I should speed it up or not is not rhetorical haha...if you're reading this (and plan to continue to read it) and have an account, please tell me either in a review or a PM, thanks!**


	56. Discussion

**Ugh...another long wait. I had completely forgotten I had to write this for a few days, one day I just had too much work, and then I just ended up procrastinating this yesterday...like I do with all my work. Anyways, hope you like this!**

* * *

Chapter 56: Discussion

"It's…it's about your family problems…" Zoe responded quietly. The room went silent for a bit.

"Um, well, what about it?" Lloyd asked nervously again. It was a talk that he didn't want to have. Things could get a little…intense, and nobody really likes getting confronted about personal problems they have especially when someone else is the one to initiate the conversation.

"You need to make amends with your mom…and maybe your dad too, if you're mad at him too," Zoe told him bluntly. She wasn't trying to speak in riddles or dance around what she wanted to say to make it sound nice. Instead, she said right what she was thinking.

"Like I said awhile ago, time will heal that, and I think it has," Lloyd admitted. "I'm not mad at either of them."

"Then say that to them!" the pink kunoichi exclaimed. "They want to hear that!"

Lloyd looked down at the bed sheepishly. "Yeah, I guess you're right…not telling them makes them think I'm still mad, when I'm really not…"

Zoe sat back with satisfaction. It wasn't anywhere near as touchy or sensitive as she had thought it might turn out to be. That was actually really simple. "Your mom's been helping us a lot since she came here. In fact, she was here before I joined you guys, right?" Lloyd nodded at the seemingly rhetorical question. "If you aren't angry at her anymore, go talk to her…she feels left out and rejected, and she hates seeing you like that."

"What do you think I should say?" Lloyd asked genuinely. The green ninja also thought that this conversation might make him a bit uneasy and angry at Zoe, but he was surprised by his answer and that he actually said he wasn't angry at Misako.

"I don't know…go catch up with her after all these years…something like that!" Zoe was unsure of what he should talk about. That was for him to decide. Her job had already been done. The rest was up to Lloyd to make it work…and it would. "You haven't seen her ever before she came to the Bounty, right?"

The green ninja nodded to the question.

"Well, there you go! What has she been doing in all these past years? Where did she go? _Why_ did she go? Do you know the answer to any of these questions?"

Lloyd was very much stunned by her response and reaction. He shook his head for a no. "I don't…I guess you're right…that is what I should find out from her."

Zoe had another look of satisfaction on her face. Ever since she found out that Lloyd had hardly accepted Misako as his mom, it always worried her, and Zoe wanted to fix their lost relationship. Today, she could make that come true. "Good, then go find her right now!"

He was surprised. "As in…right now right now? Why not after dinner? It's easy to calmly talk then, and talking on the deck is nice."

The pink kunoichi sighed. But, at least Lloyd made some progress and at least agreed to make amends with his mom. That was the important part. Zoe didn't care when he did as long as it was sometime soon.

* * *

Time flew by as the other ninja and kunoichi started "waking up" from their meditation and asked some questions to their Blades. Some, like Zane and Nya, were pretty successful in doing so. However, others like Jay and Kai…not so much.

Before they had gone off to their own parts of the Bounty, they all agreed that they would meet up in the bridge at 4 o'clock, which gave them plenty of time to continue their meditation if they needed to even after lunch.

Right now, it was time for them to all gather there, and that included Lloyd, Astra, and Zoe, who were also there. The sensei were also informed, but they declined, saying they wanted their other students to find out first and figure out whatever they can before telling Wu, Garmadon, or Misako about what they learnt.

"So, how many of you got a decent amount of information out of your Blades?" Nya asked once everyone had settled down.

"Uh, what do you mean by 'decent'?" Cole asked, unsure of whether what he found out was "decent" by Nya's standards.

"Let's start off like this: how many of you got anything from your Blades?" Reyna budged in, not answering her boyfriend's question.

Everyone raised their hand without saying anything. It reminded them of what school kids would do…

"I don't really think we should spend a lot of time caring who got a lot of info or not…" Jay put it out there. Most of the others agreed.

"Yeah, you should just move on with what you do know," Lloyd agreed with the blue ninja.

"And also we have to figure out what we still need to know," Zane also agreed with Jay.

"Wait, I have one question," Kai budged in last second before they would actually start their discussion. "Did any of you ask where your Blades came from?" When the red ninja said 'you', he was referring to the kunoichi. The three of them (Nya, Reyna, and Brisa) all shook their heads.

"No. Didn't Sensei Wu already tell us the story of our Blades?" Brisa questioned rhetorically.

"Uh, Kai, I think we'll get to this eventually…" the earth ninja told his teammate, and Kai nodded.

"Get to what?" the cyan kunoichi asked, wanting to know what the ninja were hiding.

The ice ninja waved the question aside. "Nya, we will get to it eventually. In fact, you'll understand what they are talking about sooner if one of us, the ninja, start by saying what we found out."

The kunoichi looked at each other and shrugged. "I guess it's on you, Zane," Astra told the white ninja. "Tell us what you know."

Zane smiled at the yellow kunoichi's expression. She sounded like a kidnapper who wanted to know everything about their enemies' plans. "Very well then. So, the first thing I asked Frostbiter," and he held up his bright white and icy-looking Blade like needed to show it to them. "Is whether the story that Wu told us about your Blades is true."

"And? What did it say?" Zoe asked, annoyed that the nindroid didn't continue and left suspense.

"It said it could be true, maybe or maybe not. That is something that only your own Blades can tell you."

The ninja were actually shocked that their brother had asked that as his first question.

"Zane, it's almost like you didn't believe Sensei from the beginning," the lightning ninja was surprised.

Lloyd agreed. "Yeah, like you were suspicious of that story."

The nindroid shrugged. "Maybe it was just my 'robot instincts'. Anyways, may I carry on?" When nobody disagreed, he continued. "Then after a bit more talking, it told me that the first time I fought the Five using Frostbiter…that wasn't the first time it was used in a fight against them."

The ninja nodded, while the kunoichi were surprised. They hadn't been able to learn that from their Blades.

"Moving on, it said that it was around a couple centuries ago that it had last been used, and that was in a fight against the Five. I then asked for tips on how to defeat the Five, or personality traits of its previous wielder, but it didn't tell me those."

"Well, that's more information than I got from Flameleaper," Kai admitted to everyone. The rest of the ninja and kunoichi nodded as well.

"Wait, but if you guys didn't find out about whether Sensei Wu's story was correct or not…what did you even do?" Astra asked the kunoichi, who all looked embarrassed by their teammate's question.

"Um, I don't know how to answer that, sorry, Astra," the teal kunoichi said sheepishly. "I guess it is our fault for not asking that. But anyways, if Zane's Blade fought against the Five, then so did the rest of ours."

Brisa nodded in agreement. "Yeah, it only makes sense for that to happen. That would mean either Sensei Wu told us a lie, or he didn't know the full story."

"Then that's what you three need to find out next!" the pink kunoichi exclaimed to her sisters. "Ask if there was…a different story or something. Or at least what the real one is."

"I still think Astra's question is very much valid," Kai smirked tauntingly at the kunoichi. "What did you do if you didn't figure that out?"

"Ummm, well…." Nya was looking embarrassed to say what she was about to say. "We all agreed that we wanted to find out what kinds of powers we'd have after unlocking our ultimate potential…" The three kunoichi looked down after Nya finished her sentence. They had been a little selfish for not doing what they should've done and doing other things instead of that.

The ninja shrugged. "At least you're honest about it," the green ninja remarked without much care that the kunoichi practically wasted their time. They could've learnt much more useful things if they didn't…like how they could reach those powers in the first place.

"Did you at least get something useful out of that?" the blue ninja asked.

"Uh, kind of, actually," the silver kunoichi responded. "The powers are definitely really strong, that's for sure."

"Yeah, we can tell you the details later, right now we have more important things," the nature kunoichi quickly hurried through it to not spend any more time on that.

"Continuing on," Zane interrupted them, not really caring that the kunoichi didn't do much that was productive for the overall of the team, "I asked a bit later if it could give me any tips on how to beat the Five. To that, it said we already can. We are close to doing that, it said. I then asked for the personalities of the previous wielder, but it said that a different time would be better."

"Well, knowing their personalities and goals would make us one step closer to unlocking our ultimate potential," Cole put in at the end of Zane's story. Although, such a task did seem a bit hard… Not the fact that they needed to know the personalities, but having a similar goal as their Blades' previous wielders…that would be hard. Obviously, both of their goals were to defeat the Five, but it couldn't possibly be that simple for the ninja and kunoichi.

"So I think we should focus on what our next steps are," the fire ninja gave his opinion on what should be done after this. "Like, what's left that we need to do?"

"It's the personalities, obviously!" the light kunoichi burst out. "Zane was just talking about that…"

Kai looked embarrassed that Zane had just said the answer right before he asked the question. It was a bit foolish on his part.

"Then that's what we'll focus on tomorrow," Nya concluded in case it was unclear. "Focus on finding out about their previous wielders' personalities and motives."

Just before everyone headed out because the meeting was seemingly over, Zoe stopped everyone. "Wait! Don't you three," she pointed at the kunoichi. "Have to ask about your Blade's pasts? It could be important!"

There was some mumbling before Brisa answered. "Yeah, thanks for reminding us, Zoe. We'll definitely do that tomorrow. Right girls?" she asked Nya and Reyna, and they nodded.

After that was done, the ninja and kunoichi ended their session and went to go find their three sensei to inform them of their findings and next steps.

Much to their surprise, the sensei were on the deck, meditating…or so it seemed. As they got closer, they realized they were actually just sitting down, and were likely talking before they arrived to interrupt.

"So, is your discussion over? Have you gotten some information?" Sensei Wu asked them without even turning around.

"Yeah, we actually got a good amount, but it's all thanks to Zane," Jay replied, flashing a grateful smile over to the white ninja.

"And what is that information that you have gotten?" Misako asked them as well.

"Our Blades were used against the Five before we had them, and all we really need to know now is the personalities of our Blades," Cole quickly summarized for the sensei. It would take a while if Zane explained and everyone would get impatient for him to hurry up and finish.

"Yes, and my Blade also said that we can already defeat the Five…or at least we know how to do that," the nindroid elaborated a bit more. "And I am sure we do know that how to defeat them."

All three of the sensei nodded. "Very good. I am pleased that you were able to get that much information from them on your first real try," Sensei Wu told them quietly.

"Yes, and I think you are all well on your way to unlocking your ultimate potential…or at least, those of that you can," Garmadon praised them as well.

"Yeah, and unfortunately, we didn't do as we should've done," Reyna admitted to her sensei.

"What do you mean by that?" Misako inquired, puzzled about what the teal kunoichi could mean by that. With all the information that they had, she'd expect at least some of it came from the kunoichi.

"What she means is that the three of them spent their time asking about what their powers would be," Astra answered on behalf of the other kunoichi.

"And although that isn't what they should've done, they did learn some things out of that which could be helpful," Zoe concluded their findings, even though she couldn't help with any of it.

"Then tomorrow you will all focus on getting to know your Blades' previous wielders better," Wu advised them of tomorrow's plan. "It will definitely help."

"Oh, and sensei," Nya quickly said before the conversation was over. "We're going to ask our Blades if the story you told us of how our Blades were created is true. If the ninja's Blades were used against the Five, then ours should've too."

Wu was surprised, and so were Garmadon and Misako. "I actually did not know that your Blades were used against the Five before. That is not something any of us knew."

The ninja and kunoichi nodded, leaving the mystery to be solved tomorrow.

* * *

 **I don't think I have anything elft to say here - hope you liked it!**


	57. Inching Closer

**Oh my god I am sooooo sorry for the loooong wait! According to my Doc Manager, my last chapter will be removed off that list in 72 days...which means it's been 18 days since I last updated. I should have updated at least twice since then with my usual schedule but this chapter was a little bit on the hard side to write (I ran out of ideas) and it didn't help that I've been super busy this past week too. Anyways, hope I can get over that. Hope you like it!**

* * *

Chapter 57: Inching Closer

The next day came very quickly for the ninja and kunoichi. There wasn't much else that needed to be done yesterday, or nothing important, at least. That left them with a lot of time to do anything they wanted yesterday, but today, most of their focus was on learning more about their Blades' previous users. Of course, the kunoichi still had to ask whether Sensei Wu's story was true or not, but they still hoped everything else could be known as well, like the personalities of whoever the other users of their Blades were (if any at all, in the kunoichi's case, since they did not yet know if that was true).

The ninja and kunoichi did their morning stretches and went straight to meditating again to find out the information that they needed to know. However, for Astra and Zoe, they were to continue training until they unlocked their true potentials.

Sensei Wu, Garmadon, and Misako analyzed the two girls as they trained. To them and in their eyes, Astra seemed perfectly fine. Nothing seemed to hold her back except for the fact that she wasn't getting the fighting experience that she needed. She needed someone to spar with.

Zoe, on the other hand…they could tell there was something bothering her. None of them knew what exactly it was, and it was near impossible for them to tell what it was. The pink kunoichi didn't give off any hints that they could use to figure it out, and that made it extremely difficult. They would just have to wait until she did give a hint.

Zoe was still working on a barrier that could be used for defensive purposes – she wasn't sure what exactly it would be useful for, but having something that could potentially block attacks from their enemies would be great.

Meanwhile, the yellow kunoichi used her Blade to use elemental powers. She was still working on the beams of light, and to be fair, she was getting better at it everytime she tried. Her aim had gotten better and she could aim at a target very easily, as if it was second nature. The power of her beam was where she still lacked…she needed to ramp that up if she wanted to hurt the Five at all. To do that, she'd need to use more power.

A bit later, they stopped working on their elemental powers and started working on mastering Spinjitzu. To do that, they needed to be able to perform the martial art at will like the rest of the ninja and kunoichi could. It would take a lot of practice, but they definitely should be able to.

"NINJA GO!" Astra shouted and burst into Spinjitzu with ease. The three sensei and Zoe were all very impressed that she managed to do it at will that quickly.

 _So it seems like your health issues were the biggest letdown for you,_ Rayseeker happily observed to the kunoichi.

 _Yes, I feel a lot better…I feel like there's nothing more that I want now!_

 _Except to defeat the Five…am I right?_ Rayseeker playfully challenged her.

"Astra, it seems that the fact that Zoe healed you changed a lot within you," Misako noticed about the yellow kunoichi. "You've changed a lot since before."

Astra gave a big, happy smile. "I think I've changed a lot since that day as well. It's like my life has started anew."

Misako smiled back at the yellow kunoichi. "Well then, that's a good thing. I hope your lack of physical practice from before is all that's holding you back!"

To Astra, that's really all she felt was holding her back from unlocking her true potential, and then moving on to her ultimate potential like the rest of her friends.

After they were done talking, Zoe attempted to do Spinjitzu as well. However, she wasn't able to do it as effortlessly as Astra did. It seemed she still had a little something that was bothering her…but Zoe knew exactly what it was. The sensei, on the other hand, did not.

Zoe knew that wasn't exactly happy because Lloyd hadn't made up with his mom yet. He hadn't even talked to her although he did say he would. However, that little part of how he would at least attempt to forgive his mom and accept her did make her feel a little better that she was helping his family come back together. They had a rough background and history, so, in Zoe's opinion, helping them bond (possibly for the first time) was a great deed.

She tried Spinjitzu a couple more times by shouting out their famous cry, "Ninja-Go!", but it didn't really work. She still had to think about doing it, rather than like everyone else on the Bounty, who could easily do it with hardly any effort. That's what it meant to master Spinjitzu.

Suddenly, Sensei Wu got an idea for the two kunoichi. "Zoe, Astra, how about you two do a bit of sparring? No elemental powers, so you can only use your body. You may armour if you would like."

The two kunoichi looked at each other and grinned at the opportunity. They were liking it. Hopefully, it didn't turn out like Nya vs Reyna, where the teal kunoichi continuously kept pushing herself to beat Nya, even though she was clearly outmatched.

The two did decide to wear armour. They didn't know how much their attacks would hurt, so it would be better to be on the safe time. A defensive advantage was that the opposing kunoichi's speed would be slightly reduced, giving slightly more time to react to the attack.

The two of them started their sparring on the count of Sensei Wu. Astra immediately blasted off to attack Zoe, but the pink kunoichi was smart and made sure that most of the force was on her armour so it wouldn't hurt as much.

Astra jumped back and went in for another attack, but Zoe managed to sidestep it and land a decent punch on Zoe. The punch from the kunoichi of life made her lose balance in the air as Astra fell straight on her stomach onto the wooden deck.

Without wasting time contemplating over whether that hurt or not, she immediately shot back up and dodged Zoe's incoming attack. Wu, Garmadon, and Misako were impressed by the reflexes, reaction, and speed of both of the kunoichi.

Astra had great speed and agility to attack so quickly, as well as a good reaction to get up fast enough to dodge the next attack.

As for Zoe, she had great reflexes and reaction as well. The fact that she was able to block an attack relatively well shows both of those traits, and she was able to dodge the next attack that came immediately after that _and_ was able to land an attack while dodging.

They continued to fight, and considering it just supposed to be a spar match, they were taking it quite seriously. Astra leaped forward to try landing an attack, but Zoe blocked it again with her arm. Zoe tried throwing a punch Astra's way, but she easily blocked it.

While blocking the punch, Astra also got a quick kick on the pink kunoichi's leg. The kick made the life kunoichi limp back a little. It hurt a little _too_ much, more than she expected it to.

The two of them continued to fight, and neither side showed any signs of backing down anytime soon. However, they were soon forced to come to an end by the sensei.

"Your physical skills are quite impressive now," Sensei Wu made it sound like he was trying to compliment them. "It is definitely something for our enemy to fear."

Both Zoe and Astra looked pleased with their sensei's words. After they had stood still for a bit and listened to what the three sensei had to say, they then realized how tired they actually were from the spar. They had almost acted like they were enemies…almost. That bit held them back from using their full skill and power.

* * *

Inside the Bounty, Nya was having a full conversation with her Blade, Hydroslasher. _Hydroslasher, can I ask you some questions?_

 _Yes, sure, Nya. Go ahead,_ the Blade replied.

 _Well first, I'm going to give you a story. Then would you be able to tell me if it's real or not?_

 _If it's something I know about, then I will definitely tell you if it is true or not,_ Hydroslasher made a promise to the cyan kunoichi.

 _Okay then. Before I got you as my Blade, Sensei Wu told us the story of how you, the Elemental Blades of Water, Nature, Light, and Wind were made. He said that the father of Byron and Nekro, who also happens to be Sensei Wu and Garmadon's uncle, created them. After that, Byron and Nekro fought using two Blades each. Is that true?_

If Hydroslasher had eyebrows, it would've furrowed them. _Uh, I can't say that is. There must be a misunderstanding somewhere, but…I, or we, were made long before that. In fact, we were even used in a fight against the Five before we came into your sensei's uncle's possession._

Nya gasped aloud. That either meant Sensei Wu and Misako didn't know the full story…or they lied about it. But that raised more questions for the kunoichi of water. Why would they lie? They didn't need to. That probably just meant that they didn't know the full story like the Blades did. _Then that confirms it. You were used long before, and you had a previous wielder before me, right?_

 _Yes, that is correct. I did have a previous wielder,_ it replied immediately.

 _Well then, can you tell me a little bit about her? Or him, if it was a guy,_ Nya asked politely. She really hoped Hydroslasher could tell her this much.

 _Very well then. I will do as you want me to,_ it replied to Nya. The cyan kunoichi got excited, hoping she would get a good amount of information from this. _I can tell you're getting excited. Be careful not to do that so often,_ it gave a quick warning. _Anyways, my previous wielder was a girl. She was quite similar to you, now that I think about it. Strong, independent, and quite structured. A lot like you, as I already said._

 _Did she have any goals that she wanted to reach?_ Nya asked curiously. It was a genuine question that she actually wanted to know the answer to.

 _Besides defeating the Five, which, by the way, they were unable to completely do, hence why they are still here today, she wanted to live a peaceful life without any disturbances._

 _That sounds very common and something that everyone would want…_ Nya mumbled in her head.

 _Well, as far as I can remember, that is what she wanted to do and have. I'm not entirely sure if she got it, however._

 _How do you not know whether she got what she wanted or not?_ Nya asked almost rudely.

 _You see, if she did live a happy life afterwards, I wouldn't have known because I was no longer in her possession,_ Hydroslasher explained calmly. _When I am no longer in someone's possession, I do not know what happens to them anymore._

 _Oh, that makes sense,_ Nya told her Blade sheepishly. _Sorry if I sounded rude._

 _Anything else that you would like to know?_ the Blade asked, brushing aside the cyan kunoichi's apology.

Nya thought for a moment before she gave a response. _Oh, yes, what was the name of your previous wielder, if you remember that?_

 _Yes, I remember. Her name was Taki. In fact, all of the girls who wielded the Elemental Blades of Water, Nature, Light, and Wind had names that were three or four characters._

Nya was surprised that Hydroslasher knew that the other kunoichi (if they called themselves that) from back then had names that were as short as hers. _Taki…sounds a bit…old…not very modern in my opinion…_

 _Well, of course! You have to remember that back then, the names were different from current names. This was a couple hundred years ago I'm talking about right now._

Right. How could Nya be so forgetful that they were talking about events long past… At any rate, she thought she had enough information for now, at least until the team could think of something new to ask and find out about.

* * *

Nya called for a quick meeting a little while after when she noticed that more people began to wander around the Bounty, looking for something to do.

When everyone came to the bridge, which was their usual meeting spot, Nya commenced the talking. "I talked to Hydroslasher and found out that there were previous wielders of our Blades. My Blade's previous wielder's name was Taki."

Reyna nodded, as if attesting to Nya's statement (which she actually was). "My Blade's previous wielder's name was Fawn."

Zane put his hands up as if to stop the incoming wave of people that would talk about the previous wielder's names. "That is fine and all. I also found Frotsbiter's previous wielder's name. But that is not important right now."

Cole nodded in agreement. "Yeah, the bigger question is whether we were all able to find out what the previous wielder's goals were."

"My guy wanted a happy life," Jay put in quickly and informally.

Kai nodded at the blue ninja. "Yeah, that's what Flameleaper told me as well. He wanted a happy life." One by one, each of the ninja and kunoichi repeated the same thing by seconding what Jay said. It seemed that all of their Blades said the same thing…

* * *

 **Uh I don't think I have anything left to say here really. Hopefully I can update soon...thanks for reading!**


	58. A New Understanding

**Well, there was another long delay...sorry for that. Also, this chapter is very short, a lot shorter than usual because it was hard to write. Also, I have an important announcement at the bottom, so be sure to read it! Hope you like this short chapter!**

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Chapter 58: A New Understanding

There was silence amongst the ninja and kunoichi. Nobody knew what to say after they all discovered that their Blades' previous users only wanted to live a happy and peaceful life.

"So is it just a coincidence that all of the previous users of our Blades wanted a happy and peaceful life?" Reyna asked to make certain that everyone had come to some sort of conclusion.

"And does that mean that we also have to have that goal?" Astra asked no one in particular. The same question was in everyone else's heads as well.

"Well, I think I can speak on behalf of everyone, but I'm sure we all want to have a happy life as well," Zane spoke in a way that nobody could disagree. After all, they were only trying to defeat the Five _because_ they wanted to have a good life afterwards, and also for all the people that would not be able to stand up to the Five. If they didn't beat the Five, they would have no future…because that would mean they lost.

Everyone nodded their heads in agreement. None of them disagreed with the statement that they wanted to live a good life without any trouble for them or for Ninjago.

"So…what do we do next? What's next?" Nya practically repeated herself.

"We have a common goal…sort of, I guess," Brisa put in reluctantly, not sure if she was going to accept such a goal as the actual goal.

"No, there must be some things that the Blades either don't know or didn't tell us," Cole concluded. Hopefully, Cole wasn't wrong, and the Blades either didn't know something or were hiding something. Although, preferably the latter, so they wouldn't have to figure it out themselves. That would be too much work.

"If there is information that our Blades have not yet told us, we will have to ask them to tell us about it," Zane added on to what Cole was thinking and saying.

Everyone could agree on their next steps: to ask about the _real_ goals of the previous users of their Blades. They left with some random talking between each of them, everyone having their own tiny conversations.

* * *

The rest of the day passed by in a blur, and the next day came very quickly. It was much the same routine as the previous day. This time, however, the ninja and kunoichi decided to watch and help Astra and Zoe out with unlocking new powers such as their true potential.

Astra and Zoe got geared up and ready to spar with the equipment that they chose to wear. They got ready to fight once again like yesterday and began immediately.

Astra practically flew in at Zoe in the blink of an eye. Her speed was incredible, but it also made sense to the ninja and kunoichi for the kunoichi of light, a super fast form of energy, to physically be very fast as well.

Zoe didn't get a whole lot of time to react to the quick movement that Astra had. Fortunately, Astra did not make a nasty move by attacking Zoe where she was unprotected. She purposely attacked the pink kunoichi in a spot that looked like it wouldn't hurt much, which was her stomach region. Obviously, any effective armour should cover that part of the body because it would be very vulnerable without it.

Even with the armour, Zoe could still feel the hefty punch that hit her. The impact was enough to send her flying back a few meters until she landed on her back. Astra did not use that opportunity to land another strike. It would make her seem too…merciless. It was a good idea to let Zoe get back up on her feet, especially because she was a friend, not an enemy. If Astra was fighting Jarle or another one of the Five, she would continuously attack as long as she could.

Zoe's counterattack was quicker than the yellow kunoichi had anticipated. She too landed a punch in an area where the armour would definitely protect her from a lot of harm. The force of the punch knocked the yellow kunoichi away, and even the ninja and kunoichi who sat and watched from the sidelines winced a bit at the pain Astra _might_ have felt.

The kunoichi of light quickly regained her balance and composure and got ready in an offensive stance. However, Zoe wasn't ready to enter a defensive position, and instead leaped on the offense. Both girls came running at each other, fists ready to collide.

They did collide…just not where they would have liked. Their fist hit the other's fist and both girls yelped in pain. Just imagine trying to punch someone, and then they also decided to punch you at the same time, and both punches hit each other…it would definitely hurt a lot!

The three sensei who were watching immediately called off their sparring. "Both of you going on the offensive side was a bad idea," Sensei Wu commented on their actions rather than the results they got out of it. "It is fine if both of you attacked each other with your elemental powers, but physically…not so much."

Garmadon nodded in agreement. "Yes, in a pure physical fight, it is best for one person to be on the offensive and another on the defensive. It's possible to switch between the two very quickly, but unfortunately, you are not there yet."

After a little while, both of the kunoichi were fine, but some of the pain still lingered there.

"Students, I have an announcement to make," Sensei Wu announced to everyone. It helped that everyone that his announcement would concern was still standing on the deck.

"And what's that, sensei?" Kai asked his teacher.

"I want to talk about your ultimate potential," Wu answered immediately without hiding anything back. "It is not about how to unlock it, but what you can do with it after is unlocked."

"Well, we'd love to hear more!" Nya exclaimed out loud.

"I am glad that you are happy to hear about more. Anyways, I will start immediately right now with this relatively long lecture that you are about to hear."

Cole nodded, ready to listen to it. "We're all ears, sensei."

Wu nodded in return. "Right now, you can only use elemental powers from yourself or from your Blade. However, if you use your powers too much from yourself, you will get tired very quickly. If you use your powers too much from your Blade, it will render your Blade almost useless after a while. This is where your ultimate potential comes in. It allows you to use your elemental power at a large scale if it is nearby. For example, for Nya, if there is a lot of water close by, she can use that water to her advantage if she would like to."

"Another advantage is that when you call on power from within you, it can take a while, depending on how much power you want to use. However, the advantage with your ultimate potential is that you can bring your power outside and easily access it. Of course, that itself takes a bit of time, but once you are able to do it, you can use your attacks much faster, which I imagine you will appreciate."

"One final thing I would like to say is that, naturally and imaginably, the power that you possess will increase after you unlock your ultimate potential. It will be a lot more than what you have right now. That is everything I had to say." Sensei Wu briskly turned around and left Misako and Garmadon to answer any questions the ninja and kunoichi may have.

* * *

 **Okay, now time for the important announcement. Basically, what I wanted to say is that this story is getting really hard to write at this point and I feel pretty unmotivated to go through this part. But DON'T WORRY, I'm not ending this story here. Instead, I am planning on just skipping straight to the final battle. That way, you, the readers, are not missing much. All you would miss out on is when and how they unlock their ultimate potentials, which, to be honest, I always knew was going to be pretty hard to write. I had never thought of it fully, I just kind of knew what would happen, but not how to get there, and it's becoming a real drag to try and think of something to write without rushing straight to when they unlock it. So, the next chapter I write will start with them going to fight the Five. I won't leave you completely in the dark about what is supposed to happen between now and then, so I figured the least I could do is say what should've happened had I continued like this:**

 **-Lloyd and Misako finally make amends**

 **-Astra and Zoe unlock their true potential while sparring (it was going to be the next time they did that)(Zoe's flaw was not being happy because Lloyd and Misako had not bonded yet)**

 **-The ninja and kunoichi learn about the real goals that their Blade's previous users had and that's what allowed them to unlock their ultimate potential**

 **-Remember how like 30 chapters ago Sensei Wu and Misako were talking about the "Black Orb"? Yeah, well Byron and the Five got their hands on that, so now they'll be stronger than before**

 **I think that's all...if I remember anything else, I will definitely add it into my author's note in the next chapter. Thanks for reading! New chapter will be out soon!**


	59. The Final Battle Part I

**I may have said that this would come quickly...but I guess I was very wrong about that. I was really busy some days and lacked inspiration on others...it was a little hard, but I think it gets easier from here. Anyways, since I skipped a few chapters, there's only a few more left...a couple more for the final battle and one or two to unwind and have some fun things going on! Oh, also, since I skipped some chapters, you would've missed out on some Lloyd + Zoe fluff, so I guess may as well add that at the end of this story and make it a nice happy ending! Hope you like it!**

* * *

Chapter 59: The Final Battle Part I

After unlocking their ultimate potentials, the ninja and kunoichi knew exactly where to go after they had followed the Five to their base a while ago. Now, it was time for them to fight the final fight. What may go on there, they could only hope it would be a positive outcome for them and the rest of Ninjago that depended on them.

Unfortunately, however, Lloyd and Zoe had not yet unlocked their ultimate potentials. It was terribly hard for them to do that, and even with a lot of guidance from their three sensei, they were still unable to do it. Everyone was hoping that the final battle that the two would have with Lucas would spark their ultimate potential. However, they still did not know of the terrible and destructive power that Lucas held within him…

As the Bounty flew through the sky, the sun began to set. It was nearly evening, which would definitely make for some…interesting sequences of action, to say the least. It was very pressuring for the ninja and kunoichi to think of a way to beat the Five in the dark. After all, it did seem like the Five would strive a lot in the dark.

The ninja and kunoichi prepared on the Bounty for the battle that was drawing near. That meant everything they could think of: stretches and other exercises, quick one or two minute spars, quick element training, and of course, deep breaths to stay calm.

Eventually, the Bounty arrived at "the lair", as the crew on the ship liked to call it. It was fairly dark already, but they knew there was still a while to go, which meant it would only get darker.

The large group approached the entrance to the lair of the Five and walked in fearlessly. If any of the Dead Army guys or whatever they called themselves showed up, it would be a piece of cake to take care of them with their new powers.

However, the fearlessness of the ninja, kunoichi, and sensei vanished when they heard noises of the Five, and perhaps even sounds of the Dead Army walking towards them. This made them quickly rethink and regret the decision of walking into the tunnel that would've lead them to the center of the base of the Five.

They quickly turned around and ran back outside. Even after that, they continued to run far away, into an open area with lots of space. That would serve as their fighting ground.

Surely enough, the heroes of Ninjago soon saw the Five exit their tunnel along with the Dead Army following them from behind. The heroes were immediately noticed and the Five and the Army walked over to them before saying anything.

"Well, well, if it isn't you guys again!" Jarle said with fake enthusiasm and a fake smile.

"Yup! It's that time of the year, when we defeat you guys!" Astra said with as much false enthusiasm as her enemy did. Jarle's fake smile quickly turned into a serious face which showed that he meant business.

"Is it a coincidence that we were about to leave our home and saw you wonderful people?" Palmer had also learnt the art of sarcasm since the last time they saw him.

"We were just on our way to go and train a little out here." Tylor still hadn't changed. He still looked bloodthirsty and looked at Cole and Reyna like they were food for him.

"It doesn't matter, we don't need the training to defeat these kids," Allen smirked at the ninja and kunoichi, although mainly at Kai and Brisa, his enemies.

"I hope you have unlocked your ultimate potentials," Lucas plainly said to Lloyd and Zoe. He didn't hide any emotions, nor did he show any. He didn't have a care whether the green ninja and pink kunoichi, or any of the ninja and kunoichi for that matter, even knew what an ultimate potential was. If they didn't, he would think it would be an easy fight (and to be fair, it would be an easy fight for the Five). If they did, they should have unlocked it by now.

"I have one thing to say, but after that, let's cut the chit-chat," Byron's voice came from nowhere. The old-yet-fit man walked out from behind a bunch of the Army members and came forward. "Here is the Black Orb that we wanted. It is in our possession. That just makes us much stronger."

"Woah, it's that ball thing with a dumb name!" Jay pointed and commented at the Orb. They couldn't deny it; it did sound very silly. However, it could possibly be a deal breaker.

"We know of the perfect place to start our fights," Byron said with a smile that completely ignored what Jay just said.

"It's like they have this whole thing planned out," Kai whispered to Cole and Zane, who were standing next to him.

"Yes, it is all figured out, believe me," Byron continued with a smile. He didn't seem to care at all that he overheard what Kai said, even though it wasn't meant for his ears to hear it. "Come, let us walk there. Peacefully." He dropped his smile as soon as he turned around to lead everybody else on a little walk.

It wasn't long before they stopped. "Now, this is where it gets serious…a bit, mind you. We can ramp it up a lot more than what we're about to do." Without any warning at all, the Dead Army came charging at the ninja, kunoichi, and sensei. It would be a tough battle when the Dead Army had such a great advantage in numbers. They might even get tired before the REAL fight began.

However, the fight was hardly a challenge for the ninja, kunoichi, and sensei. They easily took out multiple people from the Army at once.

Unfortunately, it got harder from there. The Dead Army began to come back at them stronger and stronger. "Yes, beat them down!" Byron commanded the Army. "Make sure we don't even have to touch them to win!" Lucas, however, shot a look at Byron that the cousin of Wu and Garmadon did not notice.

The heroes were getting pushed back. They started using their elemental powers, and the ninja and kunoichi even began to use combinations of their powers, which they had practiced to unlock their ultimate potential. Examples were Zane using ice to freeze and Cole using earth to crush the ice away, or Kai using fire to burn it all away. Also, Nya used her water and Brisa used her wind to power up the water even more like a tsunami. Another example, a teamwork effort between the ninja and kunoichi, was when Jay used his lightning and Astra used her light to make a more powerful beam of energy.

The ninja and kunoichi got pushed back even farther. It seemed like the Dead Army got stronger by the moment, and no matter how much power they used, they would get swarmed in an instant.

With little hope left in defeating the Dead Army, the kunoichi made a mental plan. "Girls, let's try this out!" Nya shouted out to her friends, and they nodded. However, the ninja and even the sensei had no idea what they were about to try.

"Water!" Nya shouted out and blasted into her dark blue Spinjitzu.

"Nature!" Reyna shouted out and burst into her dark green Spinjitzu.

"Light!" Astra screamed and showed her yellow Spinjitzu.

"Wind!" Brisa cried and showed her silver Spinjitzu.

"NINJA GO!" all four of the kunoichi yelled together and fused into a tornado. Everyone paused and looked in wonder at the giant tornado of different colours blew in front of them. The ninja ran back to not get sucked into the tornado of Spinjitzu.

However, the Dead Army members were not so lucky. They got swallowed up in an instant and were tossed out in all sorts of directions, far from where they currently were. When the tornado cleared, it was as if the sky had been brightened a bit.

"Awesome! Was that the Tornado of Life?" Brisa asked as if she had no clue what she just did.

The kunoichi laughed. "Brisa, how do you know what you were supposed to do, but not know what you did?" Zoe asked the silver kunoichi with a smile. Brisa smiled and shrugged in response.

"Anyways, I get now why Sensei Wu had us do all those combining-power-exercises and combos…it was to increase our teamwork!" Reyna gleefully told everyone that could hear her.

"That was indeed the Tornado of Life!" Sensei Wu shouted out from afar.

"Now go! It's time for you to defeat the Five!" Sensei Garmadon yelled out as well.

The kunoichi nodded and waited for their partners, the ninja, to come back as well.

"That was handy and all, but the real fight is going to start later!" Byron spoke quite confidently that they were going to win. His tone when he said "start later" sounded almost humorous to the ninja and kunoichi. They expected that there was something before the "real" battle began.

"You Five!" Byron shouted at the Five. "Attack them!"

They nodded, although they didn't exactly like being bossed around. Lucas shot a quick glance of displeasure at Byron, but the old man did not see the look he was given.

Each of the Five stood across from the couple they had to fight. Nobody seemed to make a hint of using their ultimate potential, and the ninja and kunoichi were told not to use it unless necessary, such as if the Five started to use theirs.

The ninja and kunoichi waited patiently for the Five to make the first attack. They were a bit tired and needed to have as much energy as they possibly could to take the Five on now. If that meant waiting for a while, they were fine with it.

Naturally, Tylor and Jarle ran out of patience first and began to make a move. Seeing that, the ninja and kunoichi knew that their mentality was "whoever strikes first wins."

Jarle's attack came first, and he used a beam of Dark Light, or Shadow, and blasted it at Zane and Astra. In the light, however, the two could easily see it coming and dodged it.

Tylor's attack came next at Cole and Reyna. He pushed pieces of black rocks at the two, and it was much harder to dodge than the beam of energy Jarle used against Zane and Astra, but they managed to dodge them without getting hit even once.

Finally, Kai and Brisa got impatient from the heroes' side. Allen always waited for tactical timing, and very rarely would Allen attack first in a battle.

Unfortunately for the One, he was a bit surprised when Kai and Brisa opted for a head-on attack rather than an elemental one. As if by instinct, he ran forward to intercept their attacks. His mentality in a head-on clash was that if you run at the other person (or people) as well, it becomes easier to dodge or block the attack(s). This was because it forced his opponents to go on the defensive as well just in case he changed to the offensive. If Allen simply stood there, he would be too much on the defensive side which would give too many opportunities to Kai and Brisa.

Sure enough, his strategy worked and Kai and Brisa froze and entered a defensive position. Allen grinned and quickly threw a couple of his dark fireballs at them, which caught them off guard because they were expecting a physical attack. Luckily, the reflexes of Kai and Brisa were fast enough to dodge the attacks.

Jay and Nya were next to attack, and they were up against Palmer. He always seemed to be a little on the…peculiar side of villains, they thought. They started out with a physical attack, but Palmer seemed very laid back and relaxed and didn't really react to their approach. However, as they got close, he quickly jumped over them and landed behind. He shot a quick blast of dark lightning, but knowing he would try doing something from behind, Jay and Nya split directions and dodged the attack.

Now they were on either side of him. Palmer quietly waited for their next move, and he was surprised when the next move turned out to be Nya rather than Jay. She got right next to him and started swinging her arms and legs at him, but the One effortlessly avoided all of them.

Jay made a quick motion to attack, but Palmer seemed to have some sort of sixth sense and immediately disappeared out from the blue ninja's line of attack.

Lloyd, Zoe, and Lucas were the only ones left that hadn't attacked yet. Neither side made any sign of attacking the other, which was very surprising to everyone. Lucas was just standing there, not moving, but he was looking at them very closely. If they made any hint of communication, he would attack.

Lloyd looked over at Zoe, and seeing that from the corner of her eye, the pink kunoichi looked over as well. To Lucas, it seemed like they were making even the slightest of plans, so he ran at them at an insane speed, ready to attack.

* * *

 **The battle has begun, but it just started. There's a while left before either side wins. Some interesting things still left during the fight. It's a shame I can't animate this, though. The fight scenes look really nice in my head but obviously imagination is a lot more visual than reading words...would look epic if it was a video haha :) Hope you liked this chapter!**


	60. The Final Battle Part II

**Okay...so...yeah I got lazy to write this haha. I wasn't stuck, I just got lazy and forgot about it and kept procrastinating like I do with everything that I have to do. I had a lot of work before, but now, not so much, and I can kind of enjoy the next week of my break more than I did for this past week. So yeah, sorry for the delay! Hope you like this chapter!**

* * *

Chapter 60: The Final Battle Part II

Lloyd and Zoe hadn't even made the slightest of a plan before they felt and saw Lucas rushing towards them at an incredible speed. It left them little time to react, but they both managed to dodge the attacks he wanted to use on them: two swipes with his hands, much like a cat (or anything in the cat family) would do.

The green ninja and pink kunoichi really wanted to attack him back, but they knew it would be useless…at least right now it would. They shouldn't waste energy on attacks they knew would be useless. Lucas was too alert right now, so landing an attack on him would be really hard. Quickly, they entered a defensive stance and made sure they were ready to run or jump out of the way of an incoming attack. They didn't know who he would go after next.

Turns out, Lucas went for Lloyd next, which surprised the green ninja. He was expecting the One to go after Zoe because he would assume she was weaker due to having less experience. If Lucas got her out of the way, beating Lloyd would be a very easy task for him afterwards.

Lloyd sprinted out of the way, only to find Lucas wasn't stopping. Instead, the One kept running after him and easily caught up in a few seconds. He grabbed the back of Lloyd's gi and yanked him closer, ready to deliver a strong punch to him. However, before he could do that, he was knocked back by Zoe. Lucas had completely forgotten that the pink kunoichi was around!

Lucas did not seem very impressed even though it was his mistake for letting his guard down and that Zoe capitalized on that.

"Fools! Use more power!" Byron roared and demanded of the Five. Lucas shot him another look. He was getting on his nerve…

Meanwhile, the three sensei decided they were not going to stand around. They went after Byron, 3 vs 1.

Byron had plenty of time to react to their approach. However, he chose not to. He simply stood there. The three sensei surrounded him and formed a triangle.

Misako was first to start attacking, delivering a slew of punches and kicks, all of which Byron calmly blocked or dodged while also being aware of not being in range to be attacked by either Wu or Garmadon without warning.

Misako gave up after a bit, and Garmadon tried next. That ended in much the same way that his wife stopped: he just gave up.

Lastly, Wu went in to attack Byron. This time, it seemed like his cousin actually had to put in effort to block or dodge Wu's attacks. They were more unpredictable and faster and seemed to have more power behind them, making Byron put in more effort.

Eventually, after a few seconds of that, they started a real fight because Byron began attacking back. That surprised Wu, but he should've seen it coming. The two fought like masters with their arms and legs, blocking each other's attacks and jumping and running around a lot to do so.

Garmadon and Misako surprisingly got bored watching them fight. They had a feeling of wanting to fight, so they also joined in on it.

For Byron, fighting all three of them at once was way too difficult. He kept retreating backwards as he got pushed back further and further. He hardly took any damage from their attacks because he was very capable and blocked most of their attacks, but the constant pressure drove him back.

Byron was not a bad opponent to face, however, which was unfortunate for the three sensei. He realized playing on the defensive wasn't such a good idea when they would be much more scared of his attacks than he was scared of theirs. Immediately, he started retaliating back. Every attack the three came with at him, he would deliver a reckless counterattack to push them back.

For example, Garmadon jumped in the air and came down with a kick. Byron made a reckless move by putting one arm up to block the attack and the other one to punch him. The punch from Byron really hurt Garmadon in the ribs as he walked back in pain.

Wu and Misako coordinated an attack. They came from either side of Byron with a punch ready to attack. Byron made a quick decision and guessed that Wu was the one moving faster, so he attacked him first. Byron sped over and punched Wu out of the way before turning around and running in the completely opposite direction and knocking Misako out of his way.

The three sensei were all very much surprised that they just had so much trouble trying to beat ONE man. He was handling them all pretty well. But, they saw that Byron wasn't done there. He ran towards Garmadon, who was still a bit in pain from the punch he took, and delivered another punch, but this one was to the face. Garmadon did his best to block it as fast as he could, and he was a little successful at that by covering his face.

Byron was persistent with the attacks. He continued attacking Garmadon, but Wu's brother also decided to step up his game and started fighting. They returned many attacks at each other, but Garmadon was at the clear disadvantage, so Wu ran in to try and help his brother out.

Wu got a good hit on Byron with his staff. His cousin stumbled over, a little bit dizzy, and then he felt a strong kick at his side, dealt to him by Garmadon.

Misako charged in with her Spinjitzu and attacked Byron with it. He got swallowed up and spat out of her silver tornado. He was actually looking a lot easier to beat now…

* * *

The fight with Jay, Nya, and Palmer was obviously continuing. Palmer was sending continuous streams of dark water and lightning at the two, while the blue ninja and cyan kunoichi kept dancing around them. Palmer looked entertained, as if he liked to see his opponents jump around like little kids. However, Jay and Nya were fine with it as well because they were conserving their energy for when the real battle started.

Palmer switched up his tactic and went to attack them with his own hands and feet. Jay and Nya were prepared for that and tried scaring him away with their Blades, Voltstriker and Hydroslasher.

 _Some lightning?_ Jay asked his Blade.

 _You bet!_ Voltstriker exclaimed back to him.

Jay released a blast of lightning out at Palmer. The One just barely dodged it, and it would hurt if he hadn't managed to do that. Nya also released her attack, a stream of water, which managed to hit Palmer and send him back a few steps. Jay used that time to leap at the One and the two began fighting in hand-to-hand combat. Not wanting to be left out, Nya joined in as well.

The two were constantly attacking and overwhelming Palmer. However, he didn't seem very worried because just at that moment he began to fight back…properly. He slapped away Jay's hand which was coming towards his chest and held Nya's arm to not let her punch get any further. He tried twisting her arm, but Jay came to the rescue and whacked him with his Blade.

Palmer felt a bit of an electric shock when he was touched by the Blade, but that didn't nearly hurt him as much as the actual impact with the sword. The One raced in and knocked the blue ninja far away with one punch and began to focus on the cyan kunoichi. Nya tried incredibly hard to do all she could do minimize the affect of his attacks, but it wasn't enough. She was getting overwhelmed before Palmer suddenly got zapped by lightning. She looked over and Jay slowly walking over with Voltstriker in hand, ready to use more lightning if needed. She could tell the punch still hurt him.

* * *

Like the rest of them, Cole and Reyna were still fighting Tylor. Their fight seemed to be a lot more of an endurance test because they were constantly hitting each other with little blocking, dodging, or even tactics.

Tylor sent streams of punches at Cole, but he didn't feel much. He was being serious, and when he got serious, he didn't pay attention to any pain he might be feeling. He simply wanted to return it. Reyna admired this, but she didn't think she could be the same way.

Cole landed a solid punch on Tylor's face. It completely threw the man off balance which allowed Cole and Reyna to hit him more. Much like Cole, Tylor also did not think much of their attacks and chose to ignore them. He pushed Reyna aside and starting Cole quite badly. He slapped the black ninja in the face, pushed him back, punched him in the chest with both hands, and swept away at his legs and the earth ninja had fallen on the ground.

Tylor waited for Cole to get back up before knocking him in the head once again followed by a kick in the stomach, but with his weaker leg. Tylor walked over and winded back for a punch. Cole knew he couldn't block or dodge this one, so he braced for the impact. But it never came. Instead, he heard a scream from Tylor. The One was completely surrounded by vines and was obstructed. He could not move. Reyna calmly walked over, pleased with herself for being able to help Cole a lot just then.

* * *

Zane and Astra continued their fight with Jarle. He was a reckless attacker and did not think through anything. On the other hand, Zane thought through everything and told Astra what to do as well…for the most part. He allowed her some freedom to make moves on her own.

Jarle leaped into the air and was ready to smash the couple into the ground. Zane quickly commanded Astra to run the opposite direction from him, and she obliged. Jarle missed both of them by quite a bit, which was fine by them. They didn't want to get smashed by him.

From there, Zane made a quick run at Jarle and punched the big man in the shoulder. It hardly phased him, but then Astra made a move on her own and kicked him in the back while he was busy looking at Zane. The kick hurt a good bit more than the punch, and without looking back, he sent a punch at the yellow kunoichi. Astra was unable to dodge or block it in such a short time and ended up being knocked away.

Zane got angry at jabbed at Jarle with his Blade, Frostbiter, but Jarle was quick to react and blocked it with an arm he had covered in dark ice. The Blade harmlessly bounced off the solid black ice.

Jarle took this opportunity of surprised from the white ninja to punch him hard. The attack sent the nindroid flying, and Jarle ran after him as well, ready to attack more. Jarle got ready to land a punch on Zane that would likely break his face, but he was immediately blasted away by a ray of light from Astra's Blade, Rayseeker.

* * *

Kai and Brisa were continuing with Allen as well. He was hard to fight because he was so tactical and unpredictable. He could easily manipulate the fight into his favour. For example, when Kai and Brisa both came at him to attack, he would use the same thing Byron did when he was going to be attacked by Wu and Misako: he ran at the faster one and took care of them first before turning around and attacking the other. If Kai used a stream of fire and Allen countered with a stream of his own dark fire and they created an explosion of sorts, Allen would blow the smoke away with his dark wind to make sure Brisa doesn't try and surprise attacks on him. His dark wind also kept him safe because of the possibility that it could cut them if they were touched by it.

The red ninja and silver kunoichi had realized an attack from their air was NOT at all useful for them. It left them very vulnerable to a dark wind attack from Allen, which was never a good thing.

Kai recklessly charged with his Blade, Flameleaper. Allen reacted by sending a dark fireball at the fire ninja, but Kai expected that and lightly jumped over it. If he jumped much higher, it would Allen an opportunity to try and slice him with his dark wind.

Kai approached and slashed at Allen with Flameleaper, but the One dodged all the attempts. Brisa tried to help out by slashing at him with her own Blade, Skydancer, but he dodged those attacks as well. Eventually, he knocked Kai away and pushed Brisa back a little. Then he delivered a powerful punch to the silver kunoichi's face. The blow sent her flying back several meters and Allen got ready to hit her again, but he was pushed out of the way by a blast of fire from Kai's Blade Flameleaper.

Suddenly, Byron screamed out for all to hear, and the three sensei froze and stopped attacking him. "It's time to get serious!" he bellowed out loud. "Lucas, take the Black Orb and use it to destroy these fools!" He took the Orb out and threw it to the One.

Lucas looked at it in his hand. It seemed to hold a lot of power, but they wouldn't know unless they tried it, but the ninja and kunoichi did not want that.

He looked at it for a few more seconds, and nobody dared to approach him. The, he crushed the Black Orb in his hand.

* * *

 **WOW, what is Lucas doing?! He broke the Orb in his hand! Maybe he's confident in his abilities and his allies that they don't need the Black Orb? Well, you'll find out in the next chapter anyways. Hope you liked this chapter & sorry for the wait once again!**


	61. The Final Battle Part III

**A much more timely chapter here. I was hoping that would happen all throughout this story, but oh well. Maybe for King Me! I can do that? Speaking of that story, I'm thinking of renaming it - haven't yet thought of a name, but I definitely will! Anyways, hope you like it!**

* * *

Chapter 61: The Final Battle Part III

Lucas crushed the Black Orb in his hands. Everyone was completely shocked that he did such a thing. How could he just break it like that? Did he not want to use it?

Byron was furious. "LUCAS! HOW DARE YOU BREAK THE BLACK ORB! he bellowed at the One.

However, Lucas didn't seem scared or shaken at all. He looked completely fearless of Byron at the moment. In Lucas' head, the words Byron said to him many days ago when the ninja and kunoichi had come and left rang in his head: _"I hope you will not betray me, else you will face my full wrath."_ Well, Lucas was ready for Byron's full wrath. He wasn't scared at all. And he did indeed betray Byron.

When the One remained silent and did not say anything, Byron stormed over to him incredibly fast. Everyone wondered how he could be so fast.

He flew in with a punch at Lucas, but the One simply sidestepped it and did not bother to attack back. Byron threw a slew of punches and some kicks, but Lucas dodged them all. It seemed Byron was a much scarier opponent when he was calm rather than angered.

Lucas' dodges proved one thing for sure: angry and enraged Byron was no match for calm and confident Lucas.

Byron delivered another punch, but Lucas stepped away again. This time, however, he returned the attack and punched Byron hard in the stomach. The old man was sent pretty high into the air, but he still managed to land on his feet, which was impressive.

He went in for another fury of attacks, but Lucas blocked them all and returned many attacks back at him. Byron was a little used to getting beat up…but not by someone he thought was of a lower position than him. After all, Byron was the one to free all of the Five. That should mean he should be the one they work for, right?

That wasn't how Lucas thought. Lucas didn't like being ordered around to do things. He was the most powerful of the Five, so he should be able to do what he likes without fear of others. And he wasn't scared of Byron here.

Lucas slapped Byron aside and the old man fell to the ground for the first time. He quickly got up as Lucas calmly approached him, but he had a death glare on him. The One gave a kick to Byron's side which he tried blocking but was unsuccessful. He flew through the air and landed on the ground.

"Get up," Lucas commanded in a deadly tone. Byron, surprisingly, followed the order and got up. Lucas lashed out his arm and his dark energy sprang out from his hand. It seemed to be in the shape of a big hand.

Byron was paralyzed in fear and the hand easily caught a hold of him. The hand brought Byron close to Lucas.

"Nobody gives me orders, got that, Byron?" Lucas snarled at the man. "You can give them orders if you want, but not to me." By saying 'them', Lucas was referring to the other Four. He didn't care if they got ordered around, but he would not stand to that.

Byron nodded in fear and agreement. "Why…why did you break the Black Orb?" he changed the topic immediately.

Lucas turned around and looked at the ninja and kunoichi. He turned back and smiled. "Do you think we need its power to beat kids like them? That would be a disgrace to us! If we used it, it would mean we didn't believe we were strong enough."

"You could've shown its destructive power!" Byron croaked out.

Lucas took a step back and stopped leaning in towards him. "We all have destructive power, and it's enough to destroy Ninjago. I don't see why we would need more."

"T-to…show off its power!" he yelled out. He thought his time was up. Lucas was angry, yet strangely calm. It didn't make sense to him, or anyone else.

"Now…I have one order for you, Byron," Lucas told him quietly.

Byron nodded. "What is it?" he asked nervously. He was hoping it wouldn't be something hard, and he was also hoping Lucas would let go of him.

"Die." Lucas didn't say it loudly, but everyone could clearly hear it. Time seemed to slow down for Byron as the hand made of dark energy pierced his body. His eyes saw black and he immediately collapsed.

When Byron touched the ground, the dark hand disappeared. Everybody knew he was dead. There was no question about it.

"Now, we can start the real battle," Lucas spoke as he turned around. "We will all be in different places. That makes sure that nobody can interfere. We promise not to attack as we walk there, however, if you attack, we will attack back."

Cole looked at the ninja and kunoichi. "We promise not to attack either," he spoke on behalf of everyone. It wouldn't even help if they attacked while walking because it wouldn't get them anywhere. They wouldn't be able to sneak up or anything, making it pretty useless to try.

Each of the Five nodded in agreement. Without saying anything more, they split up and started walking in different directions, leaving the ninja and kunoichi to follow the right One that they needed to fight.

It took them many minutes to reach the place they were to fight at. It was far enough that they couldn't see anyone else around them, but likely not far enough that they wouldn't be able to see an explosion. They didn't know if they would be able to hear it either, but they would find out. It's very likely an explosion would occur.

As if it was coordinated to be synchronized, all of the Five said at the same time, "Now we can fight without anyone interfering. Let's begin!" Of course, the ninja and kunoichi didn't know that because they were all so far away.

And so they did begin fighting, this time a lot more seriously.

* * *

Jay and Nya attacked simultaneously on Palmer, and he actually put up a good and serious effort to block and counter them. He had to, of course.

The blue ninja and cyan kunoichi soon realized that trying to attack him with their own physical attacks was not going to get them very far. Instead, they soon changed to using their elemental attacks, which was a much better idea in general.

Jay used Voltstriker to send out a bolt of lightning, but Palmer quickly countered with his own dark lightning. While he did that, Nya used Hydroslasher to send a stream of water. He got hit by it, but it wasn't very powerful because it was very rushed, so he was easily able to shrug it off.

Palmer swiftly used a wave of dark water and tried drowning them in it. If he could get rid of them quickly, it'd be much better.

Unfortunately for him, Nya was able to use a quick wave of water as well. The two waves crashed and tried drowning each other, which wasn't very successful for either side. After a few seconds, both waves seemed to be dead.

Then Jay got a quick idea. He would run up to Palmer and pretend to attack with his Blade, but when there wasn't a lot of time left before he would be in range of Palmer's attack, he would quickly release a bolt of lightning.

He tried his little plan by putting it into action. He ran up to the One, ready to attack with his Blade, Voltstriker. Palmer decided to counterattack, which wasn't good news for Jay. The blue ninja thought that Palmer would stay put, but he was wrong in assuming that because now it was the real final battle.

Jay had to quickly change his plan. He would have to release the bolt sooner than he was hoping, but such things had to occur during a fight with someone. Not everything can go as planned. And, in cases where he's fighting with a stronger opponent than Jay is, fewer things go as planned, especially against Palmer who is quite tactical.

The lightning ninja ran at the One and swung his Blade, but at the last second, he summoned a bolt of lightning that shocked Palmer…literally. The One staggered back and looked very surprise by the technique Jay had used on him.

* * *

Elsewhere, Cole and Reyna were up against Tylor, of course. The ninja and kunoichi already knew that trying to beat him head-on was not the way to go. He was impatient, but it seemed like the most impatient of the Five were always the strongest physically. The Two that were the strongest were Tylor and Jarle, and both of them were extremely strong physical fighters that could put a lot of hurt on their opponents.

So instead, Cole and Reyna decided to immediately start using their Blades and their elemental powers. Reyna used Vinewhipper to try and trap him, but unfortunately, Tylor was not that slow or stupid so as to fall for that trick.

In return, Tylor cracked his knuckles and starting doing some things they hadn't ever seen…or at least not in a long time. He began to bring up scary plants out of the ground. His dark nature element does much the same as Reyna's nature element does. They're both used to trap opponents and block their view and things like that. However, there was always the possibility of using it more offensively by whipping vines and other plants around, hence the name of Reyna's Blade, Vinewhipper.

Tylor's plants looked menacing, as much as it might be hard to imagine that. They looked carnivorous and ready to kill Cole and Reyna. The two went running around while trying to dodge any attacks from the plant. Tylor stood there, amused by their running. Then he did something different. He brought the dark plants back into the ground and started lashing vines out from nowhere.

Dodging these dark vines was way harder than the evil-looking plants. They got hit many times by the vines, but they kept getting up. It was really hard to get to Tylor when the vines were in the way, and they were hurt pretty badly. The dark green vines surrounded Tylor like snakes ready to defend the One.

"Got any ideas?" the black ninja asked the kunoichi.

"Use your earth powers to block the vines and break through," she suggested in a much more commanding tone that she wanted to sound like. "I have an idea afterwards." Cole nodded, even though he'd like to know what the idea was, but he trusted her enough to feel that it wasn't going to be stupid.

Cole used his Blade, Quakesmasher, and brought rocks up from the ground. He then threw them at the vines. The dark vines instantly attacked the rocks, getting crushed if there were too few per rock or breaking through if there were enough. Eventually, there was a relatively clear path, and Reyna swung her Blade and vines appeared out of the ground. The vines streamed through the chaos with the Cole's Earth and Tylor's Dark Nature. Reyna's own vines reached Tylor, and the One was not fast enough to react in time. He ended up getting slapped a lot by the vines.

* * *

Like Cole and Reyna, Zane and Astra knew fighting Jarle head on was not a good idea. He was too strong, albeit slow, and their attacks wouldn't have much effect on him as they had found out in their previous fight with him. They went to straight to elemental powers. However, Jarle seemed happy to take the battle in that direction.

Surprsingly, Jarle made the first move. He used his dark ice and shot a beam of it towards them. However, they easily dodged it. They noticed after the beam touched the ground that a part of the ground froze and turned into dark ice. Maybe Zane's ice could cover that? They didn't know. They might have to try that later if the time came to such a thing in case the dark ice was dangerous, which it was.

Zane decided to return a beam of ice at Jarle. The One also dodged it easily. It wasn't good that both sides dodged the attack, and neither side could think of any ideas really quickly.

Instead, Jarle decided to make the ninja and kunoichi uncomfortable and come in for some close range fighting. He figured that the most they would do is tickle him, and what they would probably do is run and dodge and maybe try to block.

Unfortunately for him, Zane was prepared for that possibility and went to intercept the attack. At the last second, he jumped over Jarle and kicked him in the head from behind. Jarle nearly tripped and fell, but he caught his balance. But then Astra came and landed a solid punch on his face. It hurt a bit, but not enough.

The yellow kunoichi quickly used her Blade, Rayseeker, to blast a beam of light at him. Jarle quickly countered with a beam of dark light. The two beams of energy collided and created a small explosion. Nobody could see, and Astra didn't dare to use her Blade or herself as a light source because that might lead Jarle to her.

It didn't matter. Jarle sprung up and was coming down at the kunoichi. Being scared, she screamed and quickly rolled out of the way. Zane used that sound to find her and he used his Blade, Frostbiter, to shoot a beam of ice and froze one of Jarle's legs to the ground.

* * *

With Kai and Brisa, Allen made the first attack, which surprised the couple. He used a lot of different attacks in a short timeframe, and it didn't seem tactical at all…but that was at the surface. Allen's plan was to overload them with attacks for the first while and make sure they didn't have time to attack him. It would drain him of his energy as well as theirs, but he thought he had more overall energy than them, so it didn't seem like a bad idea to him.

He started off by sending slices of dark wind at them, and they jumped and ducked over all of them while slowly trying to approach him. Next, he threw some dark fireballs at them, which they also dodged while still trying to get closer. Eventually, he cut the distance between them and started attacking with his body. He bodychecked Kai out of the way, and the red ninja tried blocking it but there was too much force behind Allen's attack.

At this point, Brisa tried to make a counterattack, but Allen sped right to her and kicked her in the side and she stumbled away.

Quietly, Kai blasted fire at Allen. He didn't see it coming and got burnt in the back by the line of fire. It was at that moment that the One decided he would go back to being tactical. He wasn't a good reckless attacker like Tylor and Jarle. He needed some time to think and anticipate what his opponents would do and then act accordingly to that.

Allen waited for the ninja and kunoichi to start making some attacks of their own. They had decided to go straight into the elemental battle. The red ninja used another blast of fire, but this time it was using his Blade, Flameleaper. Unfortunately, Allen countered with a stronger blast of dark fire. The dark fire burned through Kai's blast and quickly came closing in on them. They dodged it, although just barely.

Then, Brisa swung her Blade, Skydancer, and she sent blasts of wind at Allen. The One countered by using his own dark wind, which sliced through hers, leaving the couple to dodge another one of his attacks.

The silver kunoichi got the idea that she would distract Allen with a fury of attacks from her side and then Kai would sneak up and attack. It probably wouldn't work, but it was worth a shot.

She ran up to him and engaged him in close range combat. All she had to do was start with an initial attack, and then the rest of the time, she would just have to block his. If she dodged, it might lose his attention, but if she blocked, Allen would stay focused on trying to hit her.

Kai did what he thought was best. After all, they hadn't communicated it. They had to hope that the other understood what was about to happen and what they should do about it.

The red ninja charged in tackled Allen to the ground. The One landed on the ground with Kai on top of him, but the fire ninja quickly jumped off.

* * *

 **Only a few chapters left now! I think the next one will be as long as this one, if not longer. Or I could maybe split it a little. I don't know, I'll have to figure out when I find out how many words it'll be. Thanks for reading!**


	62. The Final Battle Part IV

**Oops, sorry again for the wait. Had some trouble writing this chapter and I was also very busy because it is around exam time so all the teachers start giving summatives and other things. The end of this week and the start of the next week are exam time for me, but it's fine because there's nothing particularly hard that I really need to prepare for, so I should be able to continue writing. Anyways, hope you like it!**

* * *

Chapter 62: The Final Battle Part IV

The last pair (or couple, perhaps we should call them) to start fighting was Lloyd and Zoe versus Lucas. It was going to be a very tough battle, that was for sure.

Lucas did not waste any time talking or standing around. He immediately started attacking all-out. He wasn't holding anything back. He needed to finish them off quickly.

Lloyd and Zoe tried desperately to stop Lucas' fury of attacks, which included punches, kicks, and shoves, but they could barely keep up. He was moving incredibly fast and the force behind his attacks continuously knocked them back.

The green ninja saw Lucas coming at him at a blazingly fast speed. He put his arms out in hopes of blocking the attack, but the One saw through that and changed where he was attacking at the last moment. He landed the punch a little below Lloyd's chin, and the green ninja flew through the air. He landed on his feet, luckily, but the impact with the ground did leave a little bit of an ankle sprain.

Next, Lucas rushed over to Zoe and punched her back in the blink of an eye as well. She didn't even get time to react, although she should've expected it and prepared for it in advance. The pink kunoichi was sent flying back as well, but she didn't land on her feet and instead fell back first on the hard ground.

Continuously like this, Lloyd and Zoe were hit and knocked around all over the place every time that they tried getting up. Lucas hadn't even begun to use his elemental powers and he already seemed to be winning with ease. However, Lloyd and Zoe didn't think the same way.

They got up again, only to be knocked down more times. They were persistent, and neither of them gave up and kept getting back up. They knew it was bad getting beat up that badly, but they also knew Lucas would eventually give up and stop…but that may not be what would happen. The One was merciless.

After more hits on the ninja and kunoichi, Lucas stopped attacking. "Why do you two keep getting up? You know it's dangerous for you to continue, right?"

"If it's dangerous for us to continue, why not just finish us?" Lloyd challenged the One. If he truly was merciless, he would've killed them by now.

Lucas frowned, a tad bit confused. "Is that a death wish? Do you _want_ to die?"

The green ninja shook his head. "I don't want to die, but I'm wondering why you're keeping me alive if you think you can kill me." Lloyd was saying all this in hopes of Lucas becoming too confident, leaving some more openings for them to beat him.

However, Zoe was horrified and definitely did not think the same way. She thought Lloyd actually meant for Lucas to kill them, and she was not at all happy about that. Rather, Lucas should be the one to die…or at least be defeated, whatever else that could mean…

The pink kunoichi shot up and stood up strong and confidently. She hardly felt a thing from any of Lucas' attacks, which was great. Lloyd, seeing her like this, also got inspired and got up quickly.

Lucas did not seem at all surprised by the reaction of Lloyd and Zoe. He wasn't _expecting_ the fight to be easy, but he did want it to be easy and finished quickly. "If you want to die, I will be happy to be the one to do that!" he roared and blasted a beam of darkness at the green ninja.

Lloyd fell to the ground and rolled out of the way. Not the most ninja-like dodge he could've managed, but it got the job done.

Both Lloyd and Zoe looked back at the path the beam was taking and saw it continuing down into nothingness. They turned back around and saw – or rather, didn't see – Lucas. He disappeared.

He reappeared behind Lloyd and put him into a choking position. The pink kunoichi was very scared, but in her fear, she charged at the One and landed a kick in his face. He easily lost balance and fell back as the green ninja got up and out of his reach. This would be a tough battle…

* * *

Jay and Nya continued their fight, but it was much more intense now. Palmer was continuously throwing out bolts of dark lightning and waves of dark water at the two, but they stood strong and countered back with equal force.

Palmer ramped things up and came at Jay and Nya with more speed and power. Before Jay knew it, he was shocked by dark lightning, and Nya was blasted by dark water before she even knew what hit her. It was really hard keeping up, but eventually, they found out that calming down and focusing where Palmer was would help out a lot.

Their strategy worked. Calming down was definitely helping a lot. It allowed them to concentrate more and pinpoint exactly where Palmer would be. As an example, Jay was able to figure out where Palmer would come next, which he decided would be his left side, so he quickly blocked the incoming attack. Luckily it was a punch, so it was more block-able than an elemental attack. Nya was able to use the same strategy to her advantage as well.

Palmer was quick to notice what they were doing and didn't waste any more time trying to repeat what he was doing. However, it was a mistake for him to let down for even an instant, as small as the time he gave was.

The couple took that moment as an opportunity to attack. They launched powerful elemental attacks at Palmer in a split second, but the downside was that it did reduce a lot of the energy they had left. Using powerful attacks really quickly drained energy as quickly as the time it took to use the attacks.

The One was unlucky, or maybe unskilled, and was unable to counter or dodge many of the attacks. Instead, he got pelted by continuous water and lightning, and it really did hurt him.

After those attacks were finished, Palmer unleashed more power at the blue ninja and cyan kunoichi. He still had a lot of energy, and wasn't even close to using all of it at that point. He still hadn't used his ultimate potential either.

Palmer sent bigger and more powerful attacks at the two. He sent much larger and more powerful blasts of water at Nya and faster bolts of lightning at Jay. It was much harder to counter these with their own attacks in a small amount of time, so they decided dodging and trying to get closer was a much better option.

They did just that, and succeeded for the most part. However, when they did get hit because they were unable to dodge, they could feel the "darkness" of the element. The dark water was hindering Nya because she constantly felt like she was out of breath, and the dark lightning shocked and pained Jay quite a bit as well. Fortunately, they weren't ready to give in just that early.

"Nya! Let's use our ultimate potentials now!" Jay shouted over to the water kunoichi. She nodded in agreement. They summoned the full extent of their power and channelled it outside of their bodies much like Lucas had done when he released his giant beam of destruction. Keeping their power on the outside made it easier to use an attack quickly.

Palmer reacted in the same way and started bringing out the power of his ultimate potential as well. Obviously, it looked more dark which also made it look more deadly and dangerous. The battle was going to change…potentially…depending on how Jay and Nya do against Palmer.

* * *

Cole and Reyna were, of course, still fighting against Tylor. He got whipped around a lot by Reyna's vines, but he still seemed pretty strong. It hurt, to be sure, but not enough for him.

After the vines were done hitting Tylor, he reacted very quickly and attacked Cole and Reyna with his dark earth. The black ninja reacted too quickly for his liking, but he had to in order to protect himself and Reyna. He brought up a wall using his Blade, Quakesmasher, to block the incoming rocks that would've pelted them otherwise.

The wall did not hold up for very much. The dark rocks broke through and crushed Cole's wall, leaving the ninja and kunoichi vulnerable behind it. They got hurt, but they were fortunate enough to pull through and manage to get out of the way of the attacks.

Their move from behind the wall to a different place simply lead Tylor to turn and attack towards their direction again.

The couple took a few more hits before realizing they should stop running and instead try and attack him back. The earth ninja started blasting rocks at Tylor as well, and all the rocks ended up colliding together and smashing and crashing.

The nature kunoichi also used her powers to attack Tylor once again. She sent more vines towards him, which he responded to by crushing with his dark earth before they even reached him. She then created a bunch of leaves out of nowhere and blasted it at the One. He was blinded momentarily, and Cole used this chance to go up close and punch Tylor a few times. That started some first-to-fist combat that may or may not have been wanted by either side.

Cole was faring well against Tylor in close combat. In fact, he was gaining the upper hand against the One. He continuously landed attacks while hardly feeling anything in return from any of Tylor's punches.

It was at that moment that both the black ninja and the teal kunoichi felt the effects of the dark earth they were hit by. It began to feel like they were being squeezed and crushed from the inside; it was not a good feeling.

This sudden stop in Cole's attacks gave the One a lot of time and opportunity to hit the earth ninja back. Of course, Cole wasn't ready to give up, and neither was Reyna. They jumped back several times and got ready to bring out their ultimate potential. It began to collect around, outside of their bodies. Tylor did the same as well. Their fight was also going to become much more intense…

* * *

Jarle was, unfortunately for him, having a tough time trying to beat Zane and Astra. The white ninja was very tactical, the weakest point for the One of dark ice and dark light, and the yellow kunoichi was fast enough to use the tactics at the right time.

It was hard for Jarle to beat such a mixture of speed and wit, but his plan to beat it was simple and obvious: just use brute strength.

Turns out, brute strength was all that he used. Jarle ran up to the couple to try and crush them with his attacks, but they were too fast for him to properly reach and hit. It was far too tough for Jarle to win through his usual means of trying to overpower them with physical attacks. Instead, he decided to start using his elemental powers.

He charged up a beam of dark light and blasted it at Astra, followed by shards of dark ice at Zane. They dodged the attacks fairly comfortably, but then Jarle began throwing out smaller, less powerful attacks, but they were also faster, thus making them harder to dodge. His small blasts of dark light were like fireballs but not actually fireballs, and his little rocks of dark ice could prove to be very dangerous if Zane were to get touched by them a lot.

Unfortunately, the white ninja could not see all the pelts of dark ice and began to get hit by them. They didn't hurt much, but the nindroid instantly knew they would leave an impact on him throughout their fight. He began countering by blasting large amounts of ice at Jarle. The One dodged it, but then he got struck by a beam of light from Astra.

Their fight was angering the One. In his anger, he lashed out and sent a giant block of dark ice at the ice ninja, and while he did try to jump out of the way, he wasn't completely successful. His legs got hit by the ice, and it did give him a lot of pain.

The blow from the large block of dark ice was a lot for the ice ninja to handle. It hurt quite a lot, but he was determined to get back up, so that is exactly what he did.

Also in Jarle's anger, he blasted a big beam of dark light towards the yellow kunoichi. She tried jumping out of the way as well, but like her boyfriend, she also got hit a bit by the beam. Astra could feel the beam trying to burn through her, but she remained strong and didn't allow it to do that. It hurt, but like Zane, it didn't hurt enough.

The two got up from their falls and began to bring out their ultimate potentials like it was coordinated, even though they had made no communication to tell each other they were about to do that. Jarle followed suit; if his opponents were going to go all out, so would he. He'd show them his true power now…

* * *

Allen was on the ground after being tackled by Kai. The red ninja had jumped back up, and Brisa had always been standing, but this was the chance they could use to put some hurt onto the One.

Surprisingly though, Allen got up faster than they had thought he would. Of course, he wasn't ready to allow Kai and Brisa to get some free hits on him; he had to do everything he could to make sure that wouldn't happen.

The One made the next attack by blasting a laser of dark fire at Kai and some sort of burst of dark wind at Brisa.

The red ninja wasn't able to completely get out of the way, and the dark fire did burn through the bottom of his pants a bit, but he was fine otherwise.

The silver kunoichi could easily tell that the wave of dark wind Allen had just sent towards her was very dangerous. It just had that feel to it. She leaped out of the way as well, but somehow, a part of her hair got cut off! The dark wind just simply sliced through it.

Not discouraged by the slight pain they were feeling, the ninja and kunoichi released a counterattack at Allen. The fire ninja also blasted a laser of fire at Allen, and the wind kunoichi sent gusts of wind in his direction as well, but Allen jumped up really high into the air to dodge it all. It almost seemed like he jumped up and then propelled himself even higher using his dark wind.

The couple had no idea why he would jump into the air, undefended. But considering Allen had always been fighting, they wouldn't be surprised if he had some tricks up his sleeve.

Getting impatient, Brisa swung her Blade and released another gust of wind. Allen made no intention to move out of the way and he allowed himself to get hit. He was being knocked down to the ground, but before he did, he spun around in the air and launched a big beam of dark fire at the two of them. Their fast reactions were extremely helpful there. Kai and Brisa ducked to the ground before they could get hit. Had they not done that, they would've been burnt to nothing.

Their hearts were pounding. They were so close to being dead just now, but they were saved by their reflexes.

As if they were thinking about the same thing, both Kai and Brisa ran at Allen, ready to attack with their own selves rather than their elemental power. They were ready for Allen to make a sudden attack; it was just a matter of where that attack would go.

Their predictions came true as Allen sent another burst of dark wind at them. The two instantly jumped out of the way and continued making their run towards him.

Allen did not run from the punches of the red ninja and silver kunoichi. Instead, he blocked them all and knocked them away as well.

Frustrated that their attacks went in complete vain, Kai and Brisa began bringing their ultimate potentials out like the rest of their friends already had. Allen responded in the same way, bringing out his dark aura, ready to strike.

* * *

 **Uh, I don't have anything left to say here. Thanks for reading and hope you liked it!**


	63. The Final Battle Part V

**Ughhh another long delay, sorry about that! I had exams and summatives so I got busy (and laziness, my usual excuse). Anyways, I didn't add Lloyd and Zoe's fight with Lucas in this chapter. I figured it was already too long since I last updated, so adding that to the next chapter (hopefully the final chapter of this battle) is what I'll do. The next chapter will be long...perhaps over 3000 words I'm guessing. Anyways, hope you like this!**

* * *

Chapter 63: The Final Battle Part V

All five fights were nearing their end…or at least the beginning of their end. Everyone had begun to bring out their ultimate potentials, and that marked the start of the true fight.

Unlocking their ultimate potential gave them three new REAL powers or abilities. One was a physical attack which used their bodies along with the elemental power, one that was purely a long-range attack, and one that could be used as a means of mobility. Of course, they had much more than that because they could still use regular elemental attacks or they could use their surroundings, by these were the three main abilities that the ninja and kunoichi (as well as the Five) gained from unlocking their ultimate potentials.

Jay and Nya were now about to fight Palmer with their full powers backing up. Whether that full power would be enough to beat the One, that was still to be found…

The blue ninja felt incredibly powerful by using his ultimate potential. He struck down on Palmer with bolts of lightning, and the One did not do much to block them. He took the attacks, but Jay knew that since Palmer was also using his ultimate potential, the damage he was doing was comparatively the same as if they were just fighting normally due to Palmer's increased defensive power.

The cyan kunoichi was having her own fun time attacking Palmer with her ultimate potential. She continuously blasted streams of water and many waves at him. It quickly became very hard for Palmer to take on both of them now because of their really fast and strong attacks.

Eventually, Palmer got fed up with allowing the ninja and kunoichi to have the upper hand in the fight; he had to take it back, and quickly. He decided that, at this point, he would start showing no mercy. He sent out deadly bolts of dark lightning at Jay and deadly blasts of dark water at Nya. They quickly jumped out of the way of the attacks, only to find out there were more coming their way!

After a little, the two were tired of running and decided to regroup and perhaps formulate some sort of plan. It didn't work because Palmer gave them no chances to do so, and he continued his barrage of fearsome attacks on them.

It took a while, but Jay and Nya finally realized that Palmer really had no tactic in mind when he went to attack them. It was just…random. While that may sound hard, it made it easier because it becomes a little easier to make a plan when your opponent has no plan.

The lightning ninja decided that he would use his new long-ranged attack. He quickly used it and watched what it did. Basically, the blue ninja jumped into the air before he even knew it, and then threw a massively powerful bolt of lightning at Palmer. The blue lightning bolt struck Palmer…and it definitely looked like it hurt a lot.

The One was thrown back by the force of the bolt, but he was surprised he was even alive. He slowly got back up, and then the water kunoichi decided to use her physical attack from her ultimate potential. She surrounded herself with water and charged towards Palmer. He got head-butted and was tossed back even further.

Surprsingly, even after two powerful attacks like those, Palmer still got up, and now he was bubbling with unused energy. It was time for him to show them who's in charge.

* * *

Cole and Reyna were having a relatively difficult time against Tylor compared to Jay and Nya against Palmer. Usually, Palmer would be the more tactical, and thus harder to beat, but for some reason, this time around, Tylor was being more skillful and cautious about his moves.

For example, when Cole used the ground beneath him to carve out a bunch of rocks to throw towards Tylor, he countered each and every one while also keeping an eye on Reyna to stop her from doing anything harmful towards him. When the teal kunoichi tried to be sneaky and attack him with a bunch of her vines, he immediately took his attention off the black ninja and leaped out of the way of his rocks. Instead, he countered Reyna's vines with his own dark vines. Tylor's vines were much stronger and ripped through the kunoichi's, and she retreated and went back next to Cole to not get attacked by them.

Tylor hardly gave a chance for the two of them to catch their breath. He went straight into his next slew of attacks, which consisted of bringing giant slabs of dark earth and crushing it into many different directions. The black rocks came streaming towards the ninja and kunoichi, and for once, Cole thought fast on his feet. He brought up a big wall of earth from the ground and blocked all of Tylor's dark rocks. It helped a lot against weaker long-range attacks like what the One had just used, but knowing the immense strength behind his punches and kicks, he could easily break through the wall. The wall was an aid while also a nuisance because they could no longer see where Tylor was. He could pop up from either side, above it, or even through it.

Unfortunately for them, Tylor chose the last option: he broke right through the wall in one hit and sent rocks from the wall splattering everywhere. It was almost as if the One knew that the earth ninja and nature kunoichi weren't going to do anything but watch him come through, horrified, so he casually stepped through, unafraid and confident that they wouldn't do anything. And he was right; they didn't do anything about it.

As soon as he had clear sight of the two, he brought his dark plants up. The plants were stuck to the ground, but they raced towards the ninja and kunoichi. Reyna was quick to react and used her vines to whip them and keep them at bay, but she was sorely outnumbered. At last, Cole put an end to them by putting up a rock-solid wall around them and crushing all the dark plants inside.

It was at this moment that Reyna decided to use her long-ranged ultimate potential attack. Sharp leaves appeared around her, and with a motion of her hand, she "pushed" them all and all the leaves were flying towards Tylor.

It all happened too fast. The leaves hit Tylor…hard, and it left a lot of cuts and scratches. They also came with a lot of force and pushed him back. It hurt a lot, but that was only one of two attacks he would take at that time.

Cole used his physical attack that he had found out about after unlocking his ultimate potential. He ran towards the fallen Tylor, picked him up over his head, and then he threw him down and crushed him into the ground.

The black ninja jumped back and allowed the One to rise back up. They knew he wouldn't be done that quickly. He did get back up, and he was ready to show them his full power.

* * *

Zane and Astra were seemingly having a field day against Jarle. The One was unable to do much of anything to them at this point, which they assumed was good. If they could keep that up, it would obviously be a lot better for them, but Jarle did have other plans in store for the couple.

Jarle did have the advantage in the fight for a little bit, and he planned to get that advantage back. Fortunately for him, there were a lot of different strategies he could use between his dark ice and dark light.

The first thing he did was cover his surroundings with dark light. Much of the fighting space on their "battlefield" suddenly became much darker, and neither Zane nor Astra could see the One. He had completely disappeared and blocked himself in the darkness. Suddenly, blocks and chunks of dark ice flew towards them through the darkness, hitting both the white ninja and yellow kunoichi.

Even after a few more blocks of dark ice, neither of the two could figure out where the attacks were coming from. It was too unpredictable to find out. It didn't help that their dark surroundings made it harder to see the black/dark purple-coloured ice.

At last, the ice ninja got a thought: if Jarle was going to attack from random spots somewhere in front of them, then why should be on the defensive? He would return the attacks to the One by using his own ice powers.

Zane heard the flight of a piece of dark ice coming his way. He responded by tossing an equally-large (according to Zane's best estimate from the sound) piece of ice, and the two collided and shattered each other. The shards were dangerous from either of their ice powers, but luckily, the nindroid dodged them all without being harmed.

Then the light kunoichi got an idea as well, and it was a pretty good one at that. She planned to use her powers over light to make the area brighter, to make it more visible again. That way, they could more easily see Jarle's attacks and counter them, as well as attack him.

Astra did just that. She didn't use her Blade, and instead used her body and it glowed brilliantly. The entire area became brighter, and the dark light from Jarle was cancelled by Astra's light. Now the white ninja and yellow kunoichi could continue giving Jarle a beating.

The white ninja could now clearly see where the One was. He started using his physical attack from his ultimate potential. The ice began to gather around Zane and covered him, and then he launched towards Jarle at a surprisingly fast speed for something that was assumed to be so heavy. His flight left some cold and frigid air behind him, and Jarle didn't do anything to dodge or block Zane's incoming attack. The nindroid slammed into his enemy and sent him crashing back. The force of the ice definitely hurt him a lot.

The One got back up, but then the yellow kunoichi began using her long-distance attack. She charged up a large beam of light, much bigger than any of her previous blasts she had used before, and then she released it. Jarle saw it coming towards him, but again, he did nothing to avoid or block it. He could only see the bright light in front of him, and it hurt his eyes to look. He closed his eyes just before the beam hit him, and he got blasted back even further.

Jarle didn't feel much, and he easily got back up, ready to give them a much better taste of his full power.

* * *

Kai and Brisa had their ultimate potentials ready, and so did Allen, but he didn't feel like using it just yet. Instead, he would wait to see what his enemies would do with theirs first. This was the biggest reason why the ninja and kunoichi were so opposite from Allen and had a hard time with him: they always went on the offensive to gain the upper hand; Allen would wait and fight reactively rather than attacking first.

As usual, Kai and Brisa decided to begin on the offensive side of things. The red ninja began by sending out several lasers of fire towards him, and the silver kunoichi sent several gusts of wind. It was hard for Allen to deal with that level of pressure, but he knew he could get through and out of it.

With some enhanced speed thanks to his own ultimate potential, Allen outran his enemies' attacks and turned around and away from their path. The couple was very surprised he moved so quick that not even their attacks could keep up with him.

Allen responded to their attacks by sending his own at the two of them. He sent lines of dark fire at Kai and his own gusts of dark wind at Brisa. The two dodged them by jumping away from each other rather than towards. That was a good idea because Allen would take more time trying to attack each of them individually.

However, that didn't seem to phase Allen. The fact that they were separated didn't bother him at all. It was about time he shifted the course of the battle into his favour.

There wasn't much he could do defensively with elements like dark fire and dark wind, but offensively, they are great. He began his series of attacks by sending out more blasts of dark fire, with each one becoming bigger and more powerful. He did the same thing with his dark wind.

Both the red ninja and the silver kunoichi did their best to dodge the attacks, but ultimately, they did get hurt a few times. They couldn't think of another idea to stop the One besides countering back with their own attacks. And that's what they did.

The next dark fire blast Allen used was blocked and run through by a more powerful fire blast from the fire ninja. That was the same thing the wind kunoichi did. She countered a big blast of dark wind with a more powerful blast of her own wind.

Eventually, that strategy got a little boring and Kai got frustrated and annoyed. He used the physical attack from his ultimate potential. He surrounded himself with red fire and propelled himself towards Allen at a blazingly fast speed. He crashed into the One and knocked him back several meters. That attack was sure to hurt.

After that, Brisa used her long-distance attack. She whipped up a tornado and sent it after the One. Allen got sucked in and spiralled high into the air before the tornado stopped and he came crashing down into the ground. That would also hurt.

It took a bit, but Allen got back up, enraged. Getting him mad was a mistake. Now he'd do the same to them…and maybe worse.

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 **Thanks for reading and I hope you liked it!**


	64. The Final Battle Part VI

**Ughhhhhhh I'm sooooo sorry for the month long delay. It was very busy with this new semester, and I really tried writing as often as I could, and even though this chapter wasn't very hard to write, I still couldn't do it! Also, one other excuse I have is that it's terribly long. I wanted to write all five battles into this chapter, but...that would take FOREVER to write. To give you an idea, Jay and Nya's fight is 1600 words long in this chapter, and Cole and Reyna's is 1900...somehow...I was hoping for it to be the same, but I don't know what happened. Imagine if I added in the other three battles...another 4500-5000 words maybe? Yeah, no. Anyways, hope you like it!**

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Chapter 64: The Final Battle Part VI

Lloyd and Zoe were still fighting Lucas. Unlike the rest of their friends/teammates, they had not yet unlocked their ultimate potential, but their enemy had. That would make their fight a lot harder than the others'. It also meant that the two would have to pull themselves together and unlock their ultimate potentials…how they would do that remained a mystery. They had no cool Blades to bond with like the other ninja and kunoichi did, and unlocking their true potentials had meant they had already cleared a big, or rather the biggest, mental obstacle they faced.

Lucas could see the determination in Lloyd and Zoe's eyes. They wanted to beat him, but they had to unlock their ultimate potential to do that. But there was another side to him: he wanted to crush that determination. To him, the more determined the opponent(s), the more satisfying the victory would become.

And so the One decided that he would begin the end of their fight. It hadn't lasted long so far, but he wanted to end it quickly. He already began to bring out his ultimate potential, but having so much power, it took longer for him to fully harness it. It went in the same order as when Allen witnessed it many nights ago. First, it started off not-that-strong, but still stronger than he was without it obviously, and then slowly progressed until he reached his full power.

Lloyd and Zoe watched in horror as he began to use his ultimate potential. They had no choice but to attack him while he did that, and maybe prevent him from reaching his strongest point. They HAD to stop him before that happened.

The green ninja focused a golden beam of energy and launched it towards Lucas. The One responded very quickly by releasing his own dark beam of energy which swatted it aside.

The pink kunoichi went in to distract him with some physical attacks, but the One simply blocked her and pushed her back. To Lloyd, the push looked more like he threw her because she went into the air and landed a few meters behind where she was previously standing.

The two of them grouped back together. Neither had a plan or even an idea as to what they could do to stop Lucas…without fail. They could try continuously attacking, but by the looks of how it was going on at this point, they couldn't be safe.

Lucas continued to bring out his full power and watched as Lloyd and Zoe watched him quite helplessly.

The ninja and kunoichi tried firing a few more attacks towards the One, but they were all blocked. Lucas didn't bother to dodge them, although blocking with his own attacks would definitely take more energy. But he didn't care. He had a big source of energy waiting to be used.

Unfortunately for him, at this moment, Lloyd and Zoe felt a huge desire to beat Lucas. Their determination was becoming much greater by the second. Eventually, they felt the determination become power for them. The green ninja and the pink kunoichi felt so much stronger, and they could feel the power automatically collecting outside their bodies. It was a fact: they had unlocked their ultimate potentials by sheer willpower and determination. So it seemed right that when the two needed their ultimate potential the most, it came to help them…

* * *

Jay, Nya, and Palmer wasted no time now. With their ultimate potentials ready to be used, they had massive amounts of power at their disposal that they could use to blow each other away.

The battle went on to being extremely fast and dangerous. Attacks were being shot out to both sides at rapid speeds.

Jay used his lightning to his fullest ability. He sent out all sorts of bolts towards Palmer, and the One countered back with his own "lightning fast" bolts of dark lightning. After a few seconds of that, dozens of bolts were exchanged and had crashed and collided. They then switched to more focused and tactical attacks rather than random ones that were all over the place.

The blue ninja charged up and shot a "blast" of electricity towards Palmer, completely shocking the One. It hurt quite a lot, and he had to admit it. He had shown, accidentally, that it hurt. That raised the confidence levels of the ninja and kunoichi.

Nya on the other hand, sent waves after waves of deep blue water towards the One. He was an excellent multi-tasker, and was also able to counter Nya's attacks at the same time as Jay's. He sent his own dark waves which swallowed up the water kunoichi's waves into nothing. Fortunately for her, some of her own waves were also doing that to his, meaning they weren't using the same power of waves at all times.

Now, Palmer felt as if he should change how this fight would play out. He blasted himself into the air, propelling himself with endless streams of dark water that came out from his hands. He "flew" up higher and higher until he was well above the two heroes, and they did nothing but watch him. Then he released the dark water from his hands and began plummeting down towards the ground. While he did that, he sprayed a mist using his element. It began clouding up their view and even hurt their throats enough to cause them to start coughing. Then he boosted back up incredibly quickly and released dark bolts of lightning which sped through the mist faster than before, also making it easier to connect with them. The couple were zapped quite hard by the dark lightning and felt a lot of pain.

Palmer landed back on the ground and continued his attack on the couple. He continued by sending a wave of dark water at the two, which splashed over and began to suffocate them. He followed it up with another powerful bolt of dark lightning which shocked them through the water and left some nasty stings and burns on their skin.

Beat up and battered by the powerful elemental attacks, Jay and Nya lost a slight bit of hope and began to waver around.

But Palmer wasn't stopping until it was over. He wanted them dead. Death was the only way he could win this fight. He blasted a thick stream of dark water towards the cyan kunoichi and pushed her back. He then threw yet another bolt of dark lightning and blasted the blue ninja back to around the same place where Nya had landed.

Without having their hope shattered, the two heroes slowly but surely got back up while Palmer watched, eager to see them fall again.

"What's the matter? Why are you two so loose now?" the One taunted towards them. Neither of them said anything, so he decided he'd continue. "Where's your hope? Do you still think you can beat me?" It was at this point he heard a slight snicker. It then turned into a full laugh, and it was coming from both Jay and Nya. "Do you really think this is a time to laugh?" Palmer demanded of the couple.

"Yes, because this battle isn't over yet," the lightning ninja told him defiantly.

"We still have some way to go before that," the water kunoichi finished boldly.

Palmer instantly became mad and blasted another bolt of dark lightning at the lightning ninja. He raised one hand and raised his Blade, Voltstriker, and he removed the dark elements from it and turned it into pure lightning that he could control. He sent it back and gave Palmer, quite literally and emotionally, a shock.

After that, he tried blasting another thick streak of dark water at the water kunoichi. She raised her one hand and her one Blade, Hydroslasher, and separated the dark elements from within the water and it instantly became pure, regular water. She turned it around and shot it back towards Palmer. Being surprised, the water merely gave him a bath, if he hadn't had one before.

Now, Jay and Nya were going to change this fight around. Jay used his new and special short-distance attack and covered himself with his powerful lightning. Then he charged towards Palmer, but the One charged his hand up and swung it in front of the blue ninja just before they would touch. Palmer's hand and Jay's entire body collided and created a huge electric explosion and pushed both of them back several meters.

Nya used her new and special long-distance attack. She summoned up hundreds of litres of water and molded it into a giant whirlpool and pushed it towards Palmer. Not seeing the whirlpool because of the smoke the explosion had caused, the One relied on the sound it created. He covered his arm with dark water and ran right up to the whirlpool and cut it at its center. The cyan kunoichi's water fell over to the side and vaporized as it was falling, millions of droplets of water which disappeared in the air before they even touched the ground.

It was getting to the moment all three of them were waiting for: the final showdown. These attacks would definitely leave a mark on the ground they were standing on, leaving behind art of sorts in the ground as a reminder if anyone ever happened to pass by the place (unlikely, but possible).

The water kunoichi started it off by using her "movement power" which involved her surfing on an endless wave. She fired off strong blasts of water, aiming for Palmer's legs and feet, but she missed because he'd dodge them, leaving some…potholes in the ground.

The lightning ninja went next by using his own "movement power." For him, this power simply increased his speed by a lot. This lead him to think that running up and attacking with his fists would be a good idea. He tried that, but to his surprise, Palmer read all of them, from any direction, and either blocked or dodged them.

Tired of these small attacks, it was time for the last exchange of attacks.

Nya started it off by drawing water out of seemingly nowhere…the air, the ground, and from within her, and began charging it up. It looked to be of a very high intensity and very focused and concentrated, meaning it would likely blow right through Palmer if he wasn't careful.

Jay started it off by creating a lightning storm. It flashed all over the place, striking the ground and leaving scars that were very visible. He then drew all the lightning towards himself and into his Blade, meaning he was ready to release.

Last was Palmer. As the user of dark water and dark lightning, he could use both elements at once. He put on a much more dangerous display of power than Jay and Nya did. His dark lightning flashed throughout sky and made the atmosphere much darker. He drew all the dark lightning into his left hand and looked supercharged. With his right hand, he began charging up a big blast of dark water as well. The water was black and looked like it would rip through absolutely anything. His eyes gleamed purple.

After what they thought was enough charging up and storing energy, they began to release…and combine the attacks. Nya released her blast of water and Jay released his stored up lightning into the water, mixing the water with the lightning. It looked very dangerous because of the focused water and the lightning travelling through it.

Palmer brought his two hands together and combined the two attacks as well. The impact of the attacks mixing made a loud sound, and the ninja and kunoichi felt the impact of it too! Then, the One released the massive amount of energy he was holding, and this time, the ground shook because of how much energy he released.

The two final attacks came towards each other a supersonic pace. Everyone had little time to prepare for the incoming and inevitable massive explosion.

The two attacks collided and created an ear-breaking sound while also starting up a huge explosion immediately. Lightning of all colours was being released and tossed out, and the two waters just turned themselves into steam or disappeared.

However, neither side was giving in, and continued to use more power to fuel their attacks (and the explosion), but mainly the attacks, of course. Jay and Nya began to yell, as if it would give more power, but Palmer stayed quiet and slowly drifted away from the battle.

Jay and Nya's attack plowed right through Palmer's, creating another explosion and many more sounds. The One lost his drive to fight and simply accepted what was about to happen. Surprisingly, the explosion wasn't big – or it didn't happen at all – when the water-lightning mixture hit Palmer's body. The force of the attack blasted him far back and way out of sight for the couple, even if there was no smoke and steam around them. What happened to him, they did not know…

* * *

Cole, Reyna, and Tylor were still fighting against each other. They had their ultimate potentials ready to be used and cause massive damage on each side of the field.

Like the battle Jay and Nya had, this battle became much more fast paced now with their ultimate potentials ready to be used. Small and fast attacks were being used from both sides of the battle.

Cole used his earth powers quite admirably. He sent out continuous blasts of rocks at Tylor, who had the task of having to block them with his own. The One responded quite admirably as well as Reyna looked on and saw their exchange of attacks looking so…even. After only a few seconds, there was smoke and dust flying around because of the rocks that smashed into each other.

Reyna decided that she would join in on the battle. She sent sharp leaves at Tylor, who for once used his wits. Rather than trying to directly counter the attacks she used, he brought up endless dark plants in the way of the attacks. Reyna realized afterwards that he was doing this so that the plants took the attacks rather than him. All he had to do was keep bringing them up rather than actually focusing on the attacks and blocking them with his own.

Here they realized they should become more tactical. To do this, the black ninja brought a pillar of rock out of the ground right in front of Tylor and slammed it into him. He did this a few more times, and the One had no idea where they would come from so he couldn't possibly block them so fast.

Tylor got angry and realized that he would change around how this battle would play out. To start it off, Tylor used the ground and brought up a pillar like Cole had done to attack him, but instead of attacking, he used it to raise himself into the air. It wasn't hard for Cole to simply cut it so the pillar would fall to the ground, but for some reason, that thought never came to him, so Tylor continued with the beginning of his offensive push. He began the attacks by using razor sharp dark leaves and pushing them towards the couple. Not having any ideas to defend themselves, the most they could do was protect their faces, leaving their clothes and parts of their bodies to be cut. After that, Tylor used the same techniques Cole had used on him and made random pillars of dark earth appear out of the ground and slam into them. These attacks were definitely painful.

Tylor came back to the ground by making his pillar sink down. But he wasn't done here. He lashed out black vines at the ninja and kunoichi and whipped them around with a lot of power behind the attacks. After that, he decided he'd be a little nicer, and instead of doing something terribly painful, he made the ground beneath where they were standing crack, making the two lose balance everything they tried moving. It caused a lot of tripping and then reactively gaining balance, but it was still quite annoying to move around in.

The attacks did make the black ninja and teal kunoichi falter a bit. They lost a glimmer of hope, just as had happened to Jay and Nya, but they continued standing.

However, the One had different plans for them and wanted to continue attacking. Like Palmer, the only time and way that Tylor would stop attacking is when he knew for sure that the two were dead. To the teal kunoichi, he brought his dark plants out of the ground and made them crash into her, knocking her far back. As for the black ninja, he got pummeled by a bunch of dark rocks which blasted him back just as far.

Tylor watched them from a distance, quite pleased in himself and his ability to knock them down. They slowly got up as the One prepared his next batch of attacks. He was waiting to hear them yell and scream in pain, but it might take a lot to get that out of them.

The two heroes got up and Cole put up his hand just as Tylor was about to launch another attack at them. Somehow, it was as if the black ninja had some influence over the One because he chose not to release his attack at them.

"Is this the part where you beg me for mercy?" Tylor shouted out quite annoyingly and happily, as if he knew that's what they were about to do. "Or lose your hope? I like when that happens!" He laughed a little bit to himself. To Cole and Reyna, he seemed to be acting a bit crazy. "Say something!" Tylor roared and demanded at the two.

"You're wrong; we're not going to ask for mercy," the earth ninja gave an imposing reply.

"And we didn't lose hope because this battle is getting started," the teal kunoichi assured Tylor.

Tylor began to look a little crazier now, almost hysterical. In this mood, he took some pretty big chunks of dark earth and threw them at the earth ninja. He raised his Blade, Quakesmasher, and completely removed the dark elements from the rocks. Instead of being black, they were their usual brown colour that he liked. He sent it back towards Tylor and the rocks smashed into him.

Furious, he brought his dark vines back, and this time, there were a lot. They were sent towards the nature kunoichi. She raised her Blade, Vinewhipper, and did much the same thing her boyfriend had done. The dark elements were removed from the vines and they turned back to their bright and dark greens that they should have. She whipped them at Tylor, who stumbled over and around because of their impact.

Cole and Reyna, annoyed that they were being beat around, took the battle into their hands once again. This time, however, Cole used his new long-range attack that he hadn't used yet. He brought many rocks from the ground, possibly hundreds, and launched them all towards Tylor. The One reacted in the same manner as he brought up his own dark rocks and launched them towards his opponent. The rocks smashed into each other and created a huge dust storm that blinded both sides for quite a few minutes.

When the smoke and dust settled enough, Reyna was about to use physical close-range attack. She held her arm out, and it began to glow like it was covered in the greenery of nature. She ran towards the shadowy silhouette of Tylor through the dust. Seeing her run towards him, he charged up his own attack: a dark nature physical attack with elements of poison in it that would definitely hurt her. The two arms impacted each other, and it sent out waves of energy which cleared the dust away.

The battle was nearing its end. All three of them could tell. That meant that their final showdown wasn't very far away. Those attacks would leave very destructive marks behind on the ground they stood on.

The nature kunoichi decided to kick things off by using her "movement power." This power for her was very interesting due to the fact that nature was not really something you could really move on. This was unique because vines came out of the ground, wrapped around her legs, and moved anywhere as she commanded. From her little levitation above ground thanks to the vines, she sprouted up more vines around Tylor to trap him. However, he used his dark earth and crushed the ground beneath him to make sure none of the vines would reach up to him.

The earth ninja went next by doing some "land surfing" while throwing rocks at Tylor. The strategy didn't work very well because the ground was very much scarred by the amount of the ground they used up during their attacks. He had to keep stopping his land surfing every few seconds because of unstable ground. Even still, he managed to blast rocks at the One, who dodged them all quite effortlessly.

These small attacks were quite useless and annoying to use and properly make use of to hit the other person. It was time they began their final attacks.

However, Cole and Reyna's attacks were a bit hard to mix, so they'd have to do their best, obviously. Reyna started it up by creating leaves out of nothing and making them circle around her like a tornado. The leaves look very sharp and focused, meaning it would definitely hurt a lot.

Cole was next, and he created rocks out of nothing and also ripped them out of the ground from anywhere he deemed it safe to do so. The rocks made many different sounds from all over the place, leaving holes and cracks in the ground behind where they were. The rocks that he brought up also began to circle around him.

Finally, Tylor started charging up his attacks. He was using the exact same form of attacks at the other two were doing: rocks, but they were dark rocks, obviously, and leaves, which were dark leaves. The dark rocks were being controlled by his left hand, and the dark leaves were controlled by his right. His now-purple eyes looked ominous and threatening as the sky around them grew darker with all the powerful dark elements he was wielding around himself.

Once both sides thought they were well prepared for this final attack, Cole and Reyna released the massive amounts of power at their disposal. The two attacks combined, with the leaves looking very pinpoint-precise and ready to cut through Tylor backed up by the tremendous amount of rocks ready to crush anything.

Tylor also obliged and mixed the powers he was controlling with both hands. The dark earth and dark nature seamlessly combined into one big attack. The dark leaves could be heard cutting away at some dark rocks, and the impact of some pieces of the dark earth hitting another already started to create dust and loud noises. Then he released all the power and blasted it at the attack from the other side.

The attacks collided in a second. The sounds made by the rocks crushing each other were insanely loud, far louder than anything from Jay and Nya's fight with Palmer. Every once in a while, leaves could be heard, cutting at various objects. The smoke and dust in the air soon came and blinded all three of them.

Both sides needed more power, so they continuously created more of their own attacks and fueled it into the combined one. Tylor, who had been so ready to kill the ninja and kunoichi, got an even greater drive to kill them. However, that only made him insane and crazy. His insanity lead him to laugh hysterically in the middle of the final attack and he lost concentration.

Cole and Reyna's attack broke through and crushed everything that Tylor was sending towards them. The loudness of one attack breaking through the other was unbearable. The One noticed their attacking coming towards him, and unable to summon more power fast enough, the rocks and leaves overwhelmed him and knocked him back incredibly far. The dust and smoke made it impossible to see through, and Tylor was gone way too far anyways. What happened to him, they could only imagine…

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 **Thanks for reading and sorry for the wait once again!**


	65. The Final Battle Part VII

**This took a lot longer than I thought, sorry. Originally I had planned to also put Lloyd and Zoe vs Lucas into this chapter as well, but that would take too long because I was going to try and not follow the same pattern as these four battles. Also, it's my March break, meaning I was home for the week, and I really wanted to update and post one chapter during this week. This is my last day home and I'm posting today haha. I guess I did reach that goal. Anyways, Lloyd and Zoe's battle vs Lucas will be in the next chapter, obviously...it will be different, I hope. You can easily figure out the pattern in these four fights; it's so obvious. This chapter isn't even Final Battle Part VII. It's more like Part VI Part 2 because I thought I would write all four of these in one chapter...turns out, I write too much and didn't want a huge chapter last time. Anyways, hope you like it!**

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Chapter 65: The Final Battle Part VII

Zane, Astra, and Jarle were all ready to begin using their ultimate potentials. This would make their fight a lot more dangerous than it already was. Obviously, with such levels of power, they could all blow each other away if they wished to.

They began throwing out attacks at each other very quickly. Zane blasted multiple shards of ice at Jarle, who, in turn, used the same thing to cancel out Zane's attacks. These attacks were exchanged and crashed into each other quite rapidly. Quickly realizing that these attacks were getting both sides nowhere, they obviously switched to more tactical and reasonable attacks rather than mindless spam of their energy.

The white ninja charged up and gathered some ice in his hands. He then released it at the One like one big icicle. The sharpness of the icicle definitely hurt Jarle a lot. It felt like it had stabbed him where it hit. The pain shown on Jarle's face was enough to make Zane and Astra feel good about themselves.

Meanwhile, Astra on the other hand, sent continuous blasts of light to keep offensive pressure on Jarle. They had noticed he wasn't too good on defense, so continuously pressuring him was a smart idea. Unfortunately, it didn't go quite as planned. Jarle blocked many or all of the yellow kunoichi's beams while also paying attention to Zane.

Jarle quickly got bored of playing on the defensive and instead took to change things around in their fight by making it more interesting for him. He started his fun off by bringing himself up into the air with his dark ice. He loomed over the two like he was on top of a giant glacier. When he got to a point that he deemed was comfortable, he shot out beams of dark light at the two of them. The extra height advantage made his beams faster because they came down from an angle. The extra speed surprised the ninja and kunoichi, and they ended up getting hit by them. After that, he tried something a lot riskier. He made the dark ice beneath him crumble as he fell towards the ground, but on his way down, he flicked pieces of his dark ice at the two, and it hurt quite a bit when they got hit.

Jarle landed safely on the ground below and continued to fire off attacks. A huge ball of dark light came rushing towards them, and not having enough time to think to dodge, they got caught in it. The dark light seemed to have drained some energy from both of them. He followed it up by throwing a big dark icicle which knocked them both backwards and onto the ground.

After taking so many direct hits, Zane and Astra were indeed on the ground. They slowly got up and realized that they had felt some hope diminishing from within.

Unfortunately for them, Jarle was not stopping there. He wouldn't stop until the fight was completely over. There was no reason for him to stop when he had the clear advantage right now, and his plan was to keep that advantage going until Zane and Astra were dead. He sent another beam of dark light at the yellow kunoichi and blasted her back. A beam of dark ice to the white ninja and he was sent back to where Astra was as well.

Acting as if nothing had happened to them, the two heroes got back up and pretended as if nothing had hurt.

"Why are you not fighting back now? Come, attack me!" the One challenged. "Are you just going to stand around and not do anything? That's no fun, but if that's what you want, I'll be happy to end this quickly!" he roared in exclamation.

"We will not just stand around as you said we might," the ice ninja told him surely.

"We'll fight back because that's what we need to do," the light kunoichi assured the One.

Excited, Jarle took another turn to attack his enemies. He blasted another beam of dark ice at Zane. However, this time was different. Zane raised his Blade, Frostbiter, as well as his hand and cleansed the dark ice from the dark elements it contained. After that, he brought it around and sent it right back to Jarle, who was very surprised and was "frozen" in shock.

Hoping the kunoichi wasn't the same, he sent yet another beam of dark light at Astra. She also raised her Blade, Rayseeker, and her hand and removed the dark elements from the light. It then became true and pure light. She sent it back at Jarle who was quite mortified of the bright light he was just hit by.

It was time for Zane and Astra to launch their new attacks at the One. Zane began by using his long-distance attack. The white ninja summoned up quite a storm of ice and slowly he brought all the tiny pieces of ice around him and fused them into one beam. He released the scary yet graceful beam of ice and Jarle quickly countered with a huge beam of his own. The two attacks collided and created a big, cold explosion. The sound of ice on ice could be heard.

Their battlefield was covered in smoke of all sorts of shades, and Astra took that opportunity and surrounded herself with light. Through the smoke, she could easily be seen. After some charging up of herself, she charged at Jarle at an unseen speed. That speed was still not enough because Jarle had been doing the same. Instead of using his body, he charged up his fist with dark light. The two physical attacks smashed into each other and created another big explosion.

All three participants in this fight could feel it: the time for the final showdown was getting near. Both sides anxiously waited until they would use the final attack. Until then, there was still some power the ninja and kunoichi had left to show.

The light kunoichi started out with her movement power. It wasn't anything fancy…it was only "some" added speed to her running…and by some, she became a lot faster. She zipped around Jarle and fired off her bright attacks of light. Not scared at all by the speed at which Astra was moving at, the One dodged all her attacks to her sadness. She tried landing some physical attacks like a punch or two, but it seemed to her that Jarle increased his speed a lot as well.

The ice ninja, obviously, went next and started his new power off by freezing the ground. Jarle, although a master of dark ice, was not the master of regular ice, which meant that he wasn't very comfortable moving on that. The ninja slid across the ice, throwing ice pellets around at the One, who, unfortunately for him, had to slap them away because he was off balance. A few pellets did hit him, but they didn't bother him at all.

These little attacks seemed to have little purpose for the ninja and kunoichi. The two quickly decided they would rather not waste more time and energy trying to hit him with those small attacks.

Now it was time for the part of the fight they were waiting for. Both sides would begin to charge up their final attack. Astra went first and charged up a lot of light in her hands. It instantly illuminated the area around her, and it definitely had a lot of energy within it that was ready to be released.

Now it was Zane's turn. He charged up a lot of ice in his hands as well, and the ice appeared out of nowhere, meaning it would drain a lot of energy from the nindroid. The ice was not frozen in his hands, and instead, it looked more like it had transformed from a solid to…energy. It was a bright blue form of energy.

Last was Jarle. He also used the same form of his elements as Zane and Astra did: a beam of energy, as both of his enemies used. He began by creating dark light with one hand and dark ice in the other, bringing darkness around him, somewhat cancelling the brightness from the yellow kunoichi. Jarle's eyes turned to a full dark and glowy purple because he was now using his maximum power.

Once they were ready, Zane and Astra launched their separate attacks and combined it into one big beam of energy. The blue energy mixed with the yellow, creating some green, but not a lot. The massive amount of energy streaked over the field, ready to collide with Jarle's huge attack that would soon intercept. The attack looked very streamlined and came rushing in at a super fast speed.

Jarle also released the power he was storing. Bringing both hands close to each other, the two dark purple forms of energy he had joined together. However, with both being the same colour and being the same form (a beam), it was very hard to differentiate between his dark ice and dark light. Regardless, neither side cared about that. He launched his massive amount of energy and it came rushing towards his opponents' attack.

Not even a second had passed when the two attacks could visually be seen and could be heard crashing into each other. The noises it made simply sounded like what such energy could be imagined to sound like. Visually, however, was a different story. It made a huge starting explosion as smoke of many colours of the rainbow and more began to show up. As the impact of the attacks continued, more explosions occurred.

However, Jarle was not putting in enough effort. He didn't feel angry enough at them. He felt…soft. He didn't feel evil at all anymore. With decreasing motivation, the strength behind his final attack wavered and the attack of Zane and Astra pushed it back, creating more noises and smoke.

The One saw the incoming attack of blue, yellow, and green, and not wanting to try and stop it, he gave up completely and allowed himself to be hit by the huge and bright blast. He felt a lot of heat and a lot of coldness for a very small fraction of a second. After that, what happened to him, nobody knew…

* * *

The final battles continued with Kai and Brisa. They wasted no time in launching their ultimate potential attacks. Kai sent out a continuous stream of fire which Allen was forced to counter using his own dark fire in a similar fashion. The two streams endlessly hit each other, bringing both sides nowhere.

Like all the other ninja had done, the red ninja thought for a second and made the decision that he would attack more carefully now. But for Kai, carefully meant, in this case, that he would go run around and blast fireballs at Allen. The action was very childish, but Brisa supposed it suited him. The strategy did end up working because a few fireballs hit the One.

Brisa also kept Allen busy during this time by sending many powerful blasts of wind. While the One kept a consistent response to the red ninja's fire, he also countered the silver kunoichi's gusts of wind. As usual, Allen was on the defensive side here, while the more reckless heroes were on the offensive side. Typical.

However, this was where Allen wanted more control over their fight as he had wanted in previous parts of this fight, as well as any other encounters they had before this. Using his dark wind, the One flew up into the air and launched dark fireballs. Like for Jarle, the extra height and angle gave a small boost in speed to his attacks. Kai and Brisa could hardly dodge the attacks and ended up getting seared by the dark fire. Next, Allen used his dark wind gusts and blasted them at the two. Unable to dodge, the dark wind slashed at them and felt like they were really being slashed by something.

While the ninja and kunoichi were still recovering from the pain, Allen carefully floated back down to the ground. He continued his attacks without stopping. Another big gust of dark wind and they felt like they'd been cut up again. The pain was stacking from the previous attacks as well. Dark wind and dark fire were possibly two of the more dangerous dark elements any of the ninja and kunoichi could be up against. He quickly charged and released a blast of dark fire which swallowed Kai and Brisa up. They might as well have been fried after that.

Caught up in the pain that they were feeling from the attacks, their minds began to wander into possibilities such as not being able to win the fight. Having those thoughts made them feel depressed. However, Allen wasn't going to stop that easily. He blasted some more dark wind, this time specifically aimed at Brisa. The dark wind caught the silver kunoichi and pushed her back forcefully. A blast of dark fire at the red ninja and he was also blasted back to where she was.

The two were feeling significantly more pain than most of the other ninja and kunoichi had. The feeling of being slashed and then burnt is not so great, obviously. They slowly got up as they heard Allen's taunts about them.

"You're not even putting up a fight now. How about you try doing something rather than get tossed around?" he asked without any concern or care at all whether they listened to him or not. "If you don't want to, that's fine as well."

"Oh, no, we'll be sure that we give you a fight," the fire ninja told him coolly.

"Yeah, don't worry, we're getting to that part," the wind kunoichi continued.

Amused, Allen actually smiled and chose not to believe them. He proved he didn't believe them by releasing a stream of dark fire at Kai. The fire ninja raised his Blade, Flameleaper, and his other hand…and then he concentrated. He managed to remove the dark elements from the fire before it reached him and sent it back at the One. Totally surprised, Allen got burnt by pure fire.

He tried the same thing on Brisa, but obviously, he blasted yet another gust of dark wind instead of fire. The wind kunoichi raised her Blade, Skydancer, as well as a hand. She, too, removed the dark elements from the One's dark wind and turned it into real wind that she could control. She reversed its direction and sent it back, which physically and mentally blew Allen back.

Now Kai and Brisa used their new attacks that they hadn't used already. The red ninja started it off by using his long-ranged attack and creating a lot of fire in his hands, and he quickly released it in the form of an energy beam. Allen had to quickly counterattack with his own beam of dark fire. The two attacks met each other and started creating huge amounts of smoke, light grey, almost black, and everything in between.

Unfortunately for the silver kunoichi, it was a bad idea for her to use her wind and bring it around her. The wind she was using blew away the smoke, giving the One an almost clear view of where she was. She charged in at Allen with her new physical attack, her speed boosted by the wind she commanded around her. She jumped into the air and swooped down like a bird ready to strike its prey. Allen used an attack in which he concentrated his dark wind in his foot and kicked upwards. The impact of the attacks sent them both staggering backwards, lifted by their own winds.

Both of them landed safely and now all three of them realized they would start showing more of their full power. This meant that the ninja and kunoichi were now going to use their movement powers.

The wind kunoichi went first and used her winds to lift her up into the air. Then she began controlling her movement, effectively allowing her to fly. From the air, she sent large blasts of wind at Allen. To her dismay, the flying abilities hardly seemed to impress the One, and he dodged all the wind pretty effortlessly.

The fire ninja went next with his movement power. This power was simply boosted movement speed by using his fire behind him. He circled around Allen many times and ran in at random times to land an attack, but the One was able to follow and predict where the attack was going to come and dodged or blocked accordingly.

These petty attacks were useless and didn't get Kai and Brisa anywhere near what they hoped to accomplish with those attacks. Instead, they began charging up their final attacks. Brisa went first and started gathering huge amounts of wind around her. It picked up quite a lot of dust from the ground that may have gathered from their explosions.

Kai was next. He charged up large amounts of fire that he created out of nothing, likely meaning he was using his own energy to power up his last attack. He contained the element within his hands, but as the ball of fire became larger, he would obviously expand his hands to accommodate for the size. However, this fire was different: it was not his typical orange-red fire. This was white.

Allen went last as expected. In one hand, he summoned his dark wind, which was very visible even in their relatively dark environment as the sun began to set. In his other hand, he created his dark fire, which was black. The fire continuously expanded in his hand as more and more collected, just as had happened to Kai. It could be seen that the dark wind was fuelling the dark fire and made it appear more…unorganized than it really was.

After enough charging, Kai and Brisa released their two massive attacks and combined it into one beam. The wind from the silver kunoichi surrounded the red ninja's fire and made it burn brighter and stronger, powering it up quite a bit. That was going to be much of the wind's purpose in this attack. It could also help in slicing through Allen's attack, but the primary purpose was to make the fire stronger. The attack went rushing in at an astounding speed to intercept the soon-to-come attack from Allen.

Allen released his two attacks and his dark wind had the same effect on the dark fire. It became bigger and stronger, and as it the two attacks combined and blasted from his hands, it was plainly obvious to him that his dark fire was moving faster than it would've without the help of his dark wind.

The two attacks reached each other in the blink of an eye, immediately creating a huge explosion and tons of black smoke. Both sides could hear the two types of fire burning into each other, and if they listened very closely, they would be able to hear the wind rushing around as well. However, listening sharply required a lot of focus that they shouldn't unnecessarily put on little things like trying to hear the winds.

Allen was already using his full power, but for Kai, he forced himself to give his attack more power. He began using blue fire, the hottest fire he could use. The extra power from this fire went into their combined attack and began to break through Allen's attack.

Not being able to muster more power to even it out again, the attack then blasted through with more explosions until the One could see the blue fire with touches of wind coming towards him. He couldn't do anything more; he lost hope. The mix of fire and wind hit him and struck him back very far. The impact with the attack started another explosion, and more smoke came out as the fire burnt through the ground. Not being able to see anything, the ninja and kunoichi could imagine what had happened to Allen…

* * *

 **One last thing here: I'm debating whether I'm going to add one chapter at the end as the last chapter for some fun stuff. I probably will, but just know that if I don't, it's because I'm getting lazy. Anyways, thanks for reading!**


	66. The Final Battle Part VIII

**Another long wait...how unexpected with how I've been updating in the past few months. Sorry, again. This chapter was not hard to write, I just got lazy as usual. Anyways, Lloyd and Zoe vs Lucas. This battle is more...intense, I guess. You'll see what I mean. It's more dangerous than the other fights, so it makes sense for it to be more intense. Important author's note at the end. Anyways, hope you like it!**

* * *

Chapter 66: The Final Battle Part VIII

Lloyd, Zoe, and Lucas were the last one left to begin their fight with their ultimate potentials ready. Having just unlocked it, Lloyd and Zoe didn't have a lot of time to explore their new powers. They'd have to explore while using the powers on Lucas.

However, this battle was drastically different from the battles that the other ninja and kunoichi had with the Four. Lucas was very skilled, and a simple fight like the others had was not to his likening, so he forced the battle into something more entertaining and amusing for him. Their battle turned out to be a lot more elemental power based than the other battles.

The One gave them no time after they unlocked their ultimate potentials. He quickly fired a beam of destruction at Lloyd. However, luckily for the green ninja, Zoe was the one who helped. She quickly thought of a shield to place in front of him, and the said shield appeared right where she wanted it to. The beam collided against the shield of life, and Lloyd, fearing it might break, jumped out of the way, which was a very smart decision because it did exactly what he expected it might: it broke under the power.

Lucas ran at the ninja at an unbelievable speed and landed a powerful kick on his head. Lloyd was guaranteed to, at best, sprain his neck from such an impact and was knocked to the ground, further adding to his pain. Zoe used this opportunity to test her healing powers. She focused on her boyfriend at light speed and healed any pain he felt. This completely shocked Lloyd, but he yelled out when he saw the One running towards her.

The pink kunoichi quickly redirected her attention and put up a fast shield to stop the incoming punch. Fortunately, it didn't break through, so Lucas leaped back several times to get to a safe distance.

Next, Zoe went on the offensive and charged up a beam of energy and released it. Her yellow energy was blasted towards Lucas, but he countered with his own beam of destruction which ripped right through and hit the ground far from the kunoichi, fortunately for her.

Lloyd gave a shot at trying to hit their enemy, but he didn't have much confidence that it would work. He too charged up his own beam of energy and sent it Lucas' way. This time, the One dodged it rather than blocking with his own attack. Lloyd fired another attack his way to keep up some pressure, but Lucas dodged that attack as well. Not wanting to give more opportunities to Lloyd, who was charging up another attack, Lucas released a blast of destruction to counter the ninja's beam of creation. The two colliding attacks created quite a ripple of explosions.

Now, the green ninja put some of his ultimate potential power to the test. Using his power of creation, he created several rock "monsters" out of nothing and sent them towards Lucas. He wanted to see what his opponent's reaction would be.

While the green ninja kind of expected what Lucas would do, he was surprised by the amount of power that the One used (or pretending to put in this amount of power). He blasted a beam of destruction towards Lloyd's way and shredded through the rock beings he created like a sword through skin.

The ninja made a weird move and repeated the same thing. He created more rock beings and made them go towards the One. Again, he used his destruction powers by coming close and dodging their attacks. He put his hands on the ninja's creations and destroyed them by channeling power into his hands, which completely dismantled the creatures.

Lucas took a turn on the offensive and blasted a beam of death right towards Zoe. She hastily put up a shield of life, which blocked out the attack. However, while the beam was going towards Zoe, the One sprinted at Lloyd and stretched a hand out, his power of destruction clearly visible. The ninja stepped back and avoided it, but Lucas was persistent and kept clawing and reaching for him, so Lloyd had to keep dodging to not get killed.

Unfortunately, at a certain point, Lloyd was unable to dodge the attack and his right arm got scratched from an attack. Here was Zoe's time to use some focused healing. She was able to easily heal off Lloyd's wound, and his arm continued working as good as usual. It seemed her healing powers after unlocking her ultimate potential were severely enhanced, and the healing effects happened almost immediately, and that too, at will.

After that happened, the pink kunoichi kept a constant healing focus on the green ninja. Seeing this, the One blasted a quick beam of death at her, forcing her to stop healing and instead of focusing her powers on Lloyd, she quickly dodged the attack.

Lucas jumped back after sending his attack at Zoe so that he could charge up his next attack. It was yet another beam of destruction, this one aimed towards Lloyd, but the green ninja had no idea where it was going to go. The One released the beam and the ninja saw it was going to his left, but in fear and panic, he also jumped left. Just before the attack hit the horrified ninja, the pink kunoichi focused her healing powers on him again. The dark blast took away Lloyd's leg, obviously resulting in much pain for having a limb completely disappear, but Zoe's healing restored it in no time. It was like having a new leg for the green ninja.

Lloyd didn't have time to do this, but he did it anyways. He gave a grin towards Zoe when another beam of destruction blasted right through his chest. In two seconds, it all regenerated like he had some advanced healing powers; and he did, but it was his girlfriend's power, not his.

An exchange of attacks passed by, and Lucas had to be careful not to be hit by any, but Lloyd was perfectly fine standing right there…so long as it was destruction. If it was a death beam, then that needed other measures to stop, but the One hadn't noticed that just yet. Throughout the exchange, Lloyd got injured several times, but he was instantly.

Seeing how he was practically immortal under the life kunoichi's support, Lloyd ran towards Lucas, but it was hardly any use to do so. The green ninja's arm got destroyed by the One once again, followed by a kick to the face, in which time his arm healed back.

"Lloyd!" Zoe cried out suddenly. "You can't do this for so long! Don't be so reckless! I can feel my power slowly draining!"

Shocked, Lloyd looked back at the kunoichi as he took another kick to the face. The healing around him got rid of the pain instantly.

"Yeah, listen to her, boy!" Lucas sneered at him. "You can't expect to be invincible forever!"

"Then in that case, I won't!" he shouted at the One. "I'll use it to my advantage and win quickly."

In response to that, Lucas ran over to Zoe in the blink of an eye and destroyed her arm. Before it could heal, he flashed over to the green ninja in an attempt to kill him while the pink kunoichi was still trying to heal herself, meaning she would be unable to heal Lloyd. Luckily for the creation ninja, he ducked down and dodged the attack before it could land on him. Zoe was healed fully in that time and focused her attention on the ninja.

Lucas was outraged. "Stop running around and just die!" he bellowed at the two heroes.

"Try it!" Lloyd yelled at him.

Not knowing what he had just gotten himself into, Lucas unleashed his anger in the form of power. Waves of dark energy radiated from his body, and the darkness could be felt as it inflicted fear into the two heroes.

"Zoe! Put up a shield, now!" the ninja yelled as he prepared for a quick beam of energy. The pink kunoichi hastily put a shield up just as a blast of dark energy came from Lucas and hit it. Zoe's shield would not be enough, and Lloyd knew that, so he released his own energy attack to counter. Even still, Lucas' power was far too great as it broke through the beam and the shield. Both Lloyd and Zoe jumped aside to avoid getting killed immediately.

While they were on the ground the One ran up to the kunoichi and slammed her into the ground with a slap. The attack might've been enough to crush her face, but she put up the strongest shield she could to protect herself in the split second she had before taking the hit. The slap still sent her head bouncing into the ground and from the inside.

However, the creation ninja was not so lucky to have a shield. He saw that the One had sprinted over to him and landed an incredible punch to Lloyd's arm. Unlike the life kunoichi, he had no way to block the attack and took the full force of it to his arm, which hurt a lot.

Zoe quickly healed herself and Lloyd back up to full power. However, all that healing that could have been avoided was taking its toll on her own power. She could feel her strength diminishing. The two heroes would have to be extremely wary of Lucas' attacks now.

Lucas lashed out his spears of death at the two of them. If they were stabbed, they would die instantly. That much was guaranteed. Zoe put up a powerful shield to counter it, and the spears had impact with the shield and broke into smithereens.

"Good, good, continue putting up a fight! Let's see how long it lasts!" Lucas smiled widely. Clearly, he was enjoying this, despite doing little damage to them throughout the course of their fight.

The ninja and kunoichi were clearly frustrated. They begin firing off rapid attacks at Lucas in an attempt to hit him. The attacks landed on their target as the One kept getting pushed back by the sheer power that was hitting him. The blasts of power from Lloyd and Zoe kept hitting him as he stumbled back further and further. After some more, they stopped and let the dust clear a bit.

But that was a mistake. A huge blast of dark energy came rushing towards them. The ninja and kunoichi leaped to their side, narrowly avoiding a clean wipe out of existence. Another blast didn't come up for a few seconds. They then noticed that the reason for that was because he was firing his attacks in random directions, places they weren't even close to.

Both ninja and kunoichi looked at each other and nodded. It was time to end this fight. They charged up massive amounts of energies and combined together into one big attack. Lucas noticed this and followed through with his own giant attack. The three beams were released and came streaming towards each other. The explosion on impact was enormous, and the power of the creation ninja and life kunoichi broke through the One's dark power easily. The attack came crashing on Lucas and sent him sprawling a long distance.

The continuous explosion was massive, sending dust up many meters into the air. Eventually, after many minutes, it cleared, and Lloyd and Zoe were able to go explore around. They saw, through a small cloud of dust, that Lucas had risen and was walking towards them.

A little worried about what he would do, they quickly found exactly that. He sprinted at them and landed a punch to the green ninja's face. Oddly enough, the punch didn't hurt him at all. He punched the pink kunoichi next, but it didn't hurt her either.

"Ha! I hit you both! For good!" Lucas' voice dropped as he lost balance and stumbled over nothing as the ninja and kunoichi looked on at him. The One reared back and attacked them both again. This time, however, they actually got hurt a bit…but that was only because they fell on the ground.

Lucas laughed hysterically. "I hit you again! How do you feel? Good? How does it feel knowing you're being hurt?" He continued laughing like a weirdo while Lloyd and Zoe exchanged glances.

"What's he saying?" Zoe whispered to him.

"It doesn't even hurt!" Lloyd whispered back.

They got up and realized it was time to end this miserable battle. As Lucas continued laughing, both the creation ninja and life kunoichi blasted a beam of their respective elements at him. There was one final explosion, but even through the explosion, they could hear the One still laughing and yelling out random things.

"Finally! I'm free! Maybe now, I can sleep peacefully, without being cursed in this evil body!" Like this, he continued yelling other irrelevant things that Lloyd and Zoe didn't understand. At the end of it all, there was silence. They went and checked and found Lucas on the ground, lifeless. He was dead.

* * *

Slowly and steadily, all the ninja and kunoichi checked to make sure their opponent was dead. Jay and Nya quickly confirmed that Palmer was indeed dead. They then returned to the Bounty, a long walk away, and collapsed there in fatigue.

Cole and Reyna were next to arrive after confirming that Tylor was dead. Zane and Astra followed with the same news that Jarle was dead. Kai and Brisa were next and they said that Allen was also dead.

Last came Lloyd and Zoe. They had obviously seen that Lucas was dead. When everyone got onto the Bounty, they all collapsed in extreme tiredness. They were injured in many ways, but Zoe had no energy to heal everyone.

In the end, however, they did end up saving Ninjago, and that's what mattered.

* * *

 **I wanted to make Lucas seem more...insane, or something, but I didn't have ideas on how to do that :/**

 **Anyways, now for the important part. The next chapter is the last chapter. It'll just be a wind up and a fun little chapter with some fluff and stuff for a good-ish way to end this story. I REALLY don't know if I'll continue King Me. I want to, but I just don't have enough time and the rate I'm writing now, it'll take a couple years to finish it. This story took almost two years to write. A couple more months and it'd be the two year mark. Anyways, hope you like it, and stay tuned for the last chapter and an update on King Me!**


	67. End of the Journey

**Ummmm sooooo...I kind of forgot about this chapter. It's been so many months since I updated, but I did start writing this at the time and then forgot and didn't remember till recently. But, it's done now. Enjoy the fluff...I guess! You have to remember that I skipped some parts in this story and Lloyd and Zoe became an "official couple" during the chapters I skipped.**

* * *

Chapter 67: End of the Journey

Several weeks had passed since the Five were defeated, and the ninja and kunoichi were up and running. They had all recovered from their injuries and were ready to kick back and relax. They visited all the families of the kunoichi, as well as Jay's parents and Cole's dad over the weeks that had gone by. Now, they were having fun.

The ninja and kunoichi made it challenge to each other to win in a round of video games after the one time Cole found them playing it. It was only supposed to be more fun, but they supposed some people took it more seriously than others.

"Oh yeah, Nya! That's the third time I've beat you so far!" Kai boasted to his sister.

She shrugged. "I don't really care. Why don't you play Brisa?" she asked genuinely.

The red ninja looked over at said kunoichi, who merely smiled at him with her eyes closed. He smiled and grabbed Nya's controller and threw it to Brisa.

Zane and Astra had just played in the most recent game as well. "We'll be back later," Zane announced to everyone.

"Yeah. Have fun!" Astra squealed at them happily. With that, they left the room and closed the door behind them. Nobody minded where they went.

Cole and Reyna were the next couple to grab up the controllers the white ninja and yellow kunoichi left behind. They were having a fierce competition, with the two of them at one win and one loss each. This final game would decide which one of them was better at _Fist to Face 2_.

The next game started, and Kai had a blast beating Brisa down in the beginning. Eventually, she caught up in the game and was actually winning for a few seconds until the fire ninja got a burst of game luck and ended up coming first, even beating Cole and Reyna.

In the Cole vs Reyna side of the game, the teal kunoichi took the win by beating the black ninja.

"How-how did you beat me?" Cole asked, astonished by her win.

Reyna didn't say anything and she smiled the same way as Brisa had done to Kai. That smile alone showed that she was proud, and she was ready to leave the small room. "Let's get going," she told the earth ninja.

He nodded. "Right. Let's go somewhere else." The two got up and handed their controllers to Lloyd and Zoe, who hadn't played a game in a while and were eagerly waiting for the opportunity to do so. They also headed out, but nobody knew where.

Kai and Brisa gave Jay and Nya a turn to play with Lloyd and Zoe. The blue ninja beat the cyan kunoichi, and the green ninja, being the best at video games on the entire ship, easily beat the pink kunoichi. All four of them were acting very competitively even though Lloyd came out on top.

Eventually, Jay and Nya left and Kai and Brisa left as well, leaving only Lloyd and Zoe in the small gaming room.

* * *

Zane and Astra had went to the kitchen, a place both of them liked. Astra would often help the ice ninja with cooking because she had taken an interest in it thanks to the nindroid.

"So, Astra, now that our journey is complete, what do you plan on doing?" Zane asked.

She shrugged in response. "I really don't know. Do I go back home, or do I stay here? What do you guys do all year?"

"We all live together on the Bounty, year-round," the white ninja responded.

The yellow kunoichi was surprised. "You guys stay on this ship all the time? Don't you go anywhere?"

Now he shrugged as a response. "We do fly across the city and to other places, but yes, we are always on the Bounty unless there is trouble somewhere."

"So this is your permanent home?" she asked another question. Her response was the nod of his head. "Wow. I could live here, with you and the others, but I should probably ask my parents first…as well as visit them from time to time."

"That is perfect," the ice ninja responded happily. "It gives us an excuse to go somewhere and do something."

"So you and the others would be fine if I stayed here?" the girl asked with wide, happy eyes.

Zane nodded yes for an answer. "Yes, we would be delighted to have you aboard our ship! After all, there is a bed for you too."

"That's great!" she exclaimed and gave Zane a big hug. The white ninja closed his eyes and returned the hug.

"I'm really glad you came along with us, Astra," the nindroid said quietly after they broke away from their hug. "This mission would be impossible without one of the kunoichi to help us. The burden that would have placed on me, to beat Jarle alone…that is unimaginable. Thank you, Astra, for coming with us."

The yellow kunoichi still had a big and enthusiastic smile on her face. "I should thank you as well. I was really scared of coming with you guys because…I thought I'd be useless, to be honest with you. And then…Zoe was the hope I needed…to help me become the person I am now. And, of course, I'm really grateful that you stuck with me through those rough times. You believed in me even when I stopped believing in myself. Thank you, Zane, for always being there for me."

The couple gave each other big smiles. And then, they leaned in and kissed each other.

* * *

Cole and Reyna happened to be in the weightlifting room, Cole's second home on the Bounty besides his own room. He'd often go there to take out some anger if he had any, but on this particular occasion, he was simply laying down on the floor next to Reyna, remembering the moments they had shared throughout the past couple of months since they met.

Reyna suddenly shot up on one arm. "Would you and the others be fine if I stayed here? Like, permanently…maybe…" she asked suddenly.

Cole, still on the floor, turned his eyes towards her. "You have a room here, with a bed just FOR you, nobody seems to mind your presence, and on top of all that…I want you to stay here too. So yes, I think we'd all be fine if you stayed here." He turned his head and looked at her with a sincere smile.

The teal kunoichi laughed. "I'm glad to know you want me here." There was a bit of a pause in their conversation. "You know, back at my house when you guys first came to Raylea, I was really scared and worried of leaving my family. I never did that before. I've been away from them for so long. But then you told me that you consider the people on this ship as your family, and you know what? I'm inclined to agree with that now. You guys all feel like my family now too. And I'm really glad that you stuck with me through this time. The kunoichi are like my sisters but you…you're more important than that to me."

The black ninja was very pleased to hear that the nature kunoichi shared these same feelings as him. "Yeah, eventually, you become used to being here, and it just becomes your home. That's what happened to me too. I didn't want to do what my dad told me to do back in Ninjago City, so Sensei Wu came along and picked me to become the earth ninja, and I don't regret it at all. We've had our share of ups and downs, but it made us stronger and more importantly, closer to each other."

Reyna came back down and slept on the floor like Cole was doing. "I'm happy that I got to do something unordinary for once. I think I lived a really normal life before – this change was really cool for me to experience. Of course, I still my miss my real family, but I think you make a good replacement as family when I'm not around the other ninja and kunoichi," she teased in that last bit.

The earth ninja did his best to look offended by her comment. "Oh, so _I'm_ just a replacement for the other ninja and kunoichi? Wow, and here I thought I was more than tha-" His sentence was cut off by the teal kunoichi, who blasted up and stopped him with a kiss.

"Silly boy," she said when they put some distance between themselves again. "Of course you're more than a replacement for the others. You mean as much as my parents and my brother Rob do to me."

Cole gave her a genuine smile. "I'm glad you feel that way. I hardly have a family, with it including just my dad and I, but you're a great addition to it…along with the others on the Bounty."

Happy with each other, they leaned in for a kiss once again.

* * *

Kai and Brisa went out to the silver kunoichi's favourite spot on the Bounty: the deck. The breeze was quite nice as they sailed through the sky. "So, what are you going to do now that our journey is over?" the red ninja asked Brisa.

She thought about it for a moment before giving an answer. "I'm not sure what I should do, to be honest. I'm not sure how much my parents would like it if I didn't come back home, or how much I'd like it for that matter."

"You could stay here," Kai offered. "I think they'd be fine with that…as long as you are, too."

The silver kunoichi turned and looked at the red ninja. "I wouldn't mind staying here. It's fun, doing this kunoichi stuff. And I think you're right about my parents. We made it up to each other, and they agree too that I'm doing the right thing by protecting Ninjago."

The fire ninja nodded. "Exactly. I'd say the same."

"I think I will just stay here…but I'll visit my parents and grandparents from time to time, of course." Kai nodded in agreement.

There was a little pause in their conversation before Kai spoke again. "Never got to say this to you, but…I'm really glad you came along and joined us for this adventure. It'd be near impossible to beat the Five without even one of the kunoichi. It meant a lot to the team and…it meant a lot to me as well," the fire ninja finished, looking at her with a smile.

The wind kunoichi blushed a bit before launching into a paragraph of her own. "Yeah, I'm really glad I got to come here and try this new lifestyle. It's dangerous, but it's rewarding, and I like making decisions on my own and having the freedom to do so. Sure, I have to follow a routine here, but it feels good because I made this decision on my own. You helped me a lot, Kai, and you were always there for me. Thank you for that. I really mean it."

The ninja chuckled slightly. "Don't worry, I know you mean it." Again, an awkward pause where neither of them knew what to do. However, before they knew what they were doing, they leaned in for a kiss, happy that they were feeling the same way about each other.

* * *

Lloyd and Zoe were still in the TV room, or the living room as they call it, but they grew bored of playing the game on their own, so they stopped. Neither really knew what to say to each other, but from time to time, they would glance at each other.

"So, uh, are you going to go back home?" Lloyd asked the kunoichi.

She was surprised to be asked such a question. "No…I mean, I think my parents would want me to come home, but I don't know if I want to go home. This has become a home for me too."

Lloyd was relieved to hear that. "Good, I thought you'd be leaving me…so soon…" he trailed off when he saw the look on Zoe's face.

"Why would I do that?! I just met you too, you know, and I like being in your company," she declared happily with a blush.

The green ninja laughed. "I do too, Zoe, I do too. But what are you going to tell your parents? That you're staying here?"

The pink kunoichi nodded. "At least until they get further notice from me. It was scary at first, becoming a kunoichi. I didn't really know if I wanted to. Well, I did want to, but it meant giving up a lot of stuff that I liked at that time…still do, but this has become a job for me as well. I'm happy you were able to convince me about joining."

Lloyd gave a real smile to Zoe. "Yeah, I'm happy you joined us too. I don't even know what we would've done had you said no. But luckily, you said yes, and I'm happy you're on our team now…possibly permanently?" he said in a tone that meant it was a question, to which Zoe nodded. "That's great! It's good to have you here!"

A few seconds later, the couple leaned in and gave each other a kiss.

* * *

Jay and Nya were in the bridge of the Bounty, talking about random things that interested the two of them.

"Everyone else must be having some 'tender moments' with each other," Nya remarked with a chuckle.

"You mean the other couples on this ship? Yeah, good thing we've already been through that many times," Jay completed with a chuckle of his own.

"Well, I don't think we have anything to say to each other…we've known each other for longer than the other couples have known each other," the cyan kunoichi positively spoke.

The blue ninja nodded. "You're right about that, Nya." Without another word, the two leaned in and gave a kiss to each other as well.

* * *

 **THE END! Thank you all for reading this story till the end. This story is officially complete and there's nothing left to it now. Hope you all enjoyed, and thanks for reading these 67 chapters! It was definitely fun writing this story when I was motivated...took over two years to finish, lol. Not sure if I'll continue King Me. Might update very periodically, but I'm not expecting much from myself for that story. I read the chapters I wrote recently and I was surprised that I wrote that well. Definitely has potential to be better than this story, but time will be thin for me because this is an important school year so I'm not sure about my time and motivation behind it. Possibly random updates when I feel like it. Anyways, hope you all enjoyed this chapter & story, thanks for reading once again!**


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